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With the proliferation of consumer reviews, blogs and social media channels like Facebook, consumers everywhere are voicing their opinions about companies – from the level of customer service given to the defective products they used and returned in exchange for something that works. Other topics such as hatred of commercials or wasted gimmicky and nonsensical ads and the dislike of mobile harassments that assault their web-surfings also teem social media channels. The point is, consumers are the lighthouses and marketers are the ships, so why float blindly in the night fog hoping to reach shore when they are here directing you?

However, there seems to be another issue: what about demographic marketing along the lines of cultural differences? Are marketers getting the point of such fine targeting?

So what can you do to make sure you let the consumer know they are heard? How can you easily reach out to the consumer?

With an effective Internet marketing campaign to smartphones and other mobile devices through a company like Adviatech, you can target consumers by their needs, by their cultures and by their demographics. This is done via social media optimization through the social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. This can also be done via mobile advertising through an effective pay-per-click campaign.

Give the customer what they want and they will reciprocate your needs as well as giving you business. Give customers mobile applications and social network profiles that enhance their daily lives, send them coupons and specials that pique their interests and do not forget that a text or email with the word free is always an eye-catcher. The consumer knows you marketers wish to be heard, they know you exist, but do you know they exist?

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/07/getting-to-know-your-clients/feed/Is Your Business Social?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/06/is-your-business-social/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/06/is-your-business-social/#commentsMon, 20 Jun 2011 19:13:13 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=310Letting consumers know your business exists can be very tricky. You can advertise in local flyers, billboards, even local or national commercials, or you can go broader and cheaper by embracing the world of Internet marketing.

In this world, you can advertise via pay-per click campaigns and optimize your business website for the major search engines. But while SEO and PPC is a major tool in this web marketing, there is one tool that many companies fail to fully optimize: social media.

Social media involves optimizing your company for sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Linkedin, and many more. It involves creating podcasts or videocasts that inform and educate. It involves creating deals via sites like Groupon or Mobiq. What SMO (social media optimization) boils down to is having content that is available for computers and mobile devices through blogs, podcasts or social network updates. This content must create interactivity with your target customers – it must create interest. With the right optimization of social media through Internet marketing companies like Adviatech, you can parlay your current SEO campaign and get the traffic and revenues you are seeking.

Are you social? Are you socially optimized? Have you created a network of consumers that are as close to you as your family and friends? If not, then it is time to get social. For the customer who belongs to your family will always come back to you and tell others about you. Everyone wishes to be a part of something. Consumers are ferreting out the companies that they wish to follow. Do not let your company go unnoticed. Now is the time to get social.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/06/is-your-business-social/feed/How Citations Help with Local Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/how-citations-help-with-local-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/how-citations-help-with-local-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 21 Mar 2011 13:06:59 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=308When many business owners hear the term SEO marketing, the first thing they think about is modifying their company’s website for global optimization through the most popular search engine, Google. Their goal is to obtain the highest ranking in this global search realm so that potential customers know where they are if they wish to do business. For any company who has a website, search engine optimization is an important tool and investment to utilize.

In Global SEO, one of the many techniques used is through the process of back linking. This is when other websites link to yours through mediums such as affiliate websites, blogs, or syndicating news providers. Back linking is the most important process a company that has a website can invest time in.

However, other companies who do not have a website have run into a crux: how do they get their business noticed on popular search engines? While a good answer for any company is to have a website, as a website is a must in the Web 2.0 industry, there might be another expedient answer: Local SEO.

Local SEO is the search engine results that come up when someone types in a set of keywords. The search engines return companies and products within the searcher’s zip code. Search engines, such as Google, have implemented a process that will automatically detect searchers’ zip codes or locations via their IP addresses. While this may sound great for many companies that wish to reach out to the local markets, the question is how do you rank on these local search results? One answer: citations.

What back linking is to Global SEO, citations are to Local SEO.

Citations show the search engine algorithms that a company is part of a community, even if it does not have its own website. The more communities the business belongs to, the more reviews these communities give it, the higher its ranking.

Citations come from well-established websites such as superpages.com or Google Places, once your company is listed in their directory. As mentioned earlier, you do not need a website to rank locally, all you need is a properly implemented local search campaign.

The diverse world of SEO has many roads to travel, both local and global, but in the end if all the right roads are taken without shortcuts, they will all lead to the same end: success and profit for you.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/how-citations-help-with-local-search-engine-optimization/feed/Usability Testing Is The Final Step In SEO Marketinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/usability-testing-is-the-final-step-in-seo-marketing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/usability-testing-is-the-final-step-in-seo-marketing/#commentsThu, 10 Mar 2011 19:37:17 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=306Your website has been designed, you have enhanced the homepage and other pages for the proper keywords, all your images have “alt” tags and your breadcrumbs and navigation menus are organized and use understandable explanations. By all rights, you are ready to go live.

In the weeks after going live, you notice increased traffic but no conversions. Google Analytics shows that potential customers never made it past the homepage. What is going on?

Do not fret; you are not alone.

Hasty website designers, business owners and Internet marketers are learning that designing your website for attention from search engines is not enough. What good is an optimized website that looks like a Picasso painting? A website is not supposed to be a piece of art that customers have to decipher, it should be acute and clear.

What occurs is that website designers either design a page the way a business owner specifies, or business owners design their own pages – and the result is a mess. If you find yourself in this same predicament, there is a solution – one that is necessary for any Internet and SEO marketing campaign: usability testing.

Usability testing allows average and experienced Internet users a chance to survey your webpage by completing specific tasks you assign them. How well they complete these tasks and any feedback they give about your site is essential. A marketing website is not built for you and your employees, it is built for the cultures and demographics out there whom you wish to convert to your service. Keeping this simple fact in mind should be the impetus you need for that ROI for which you been patiently waiting.

When performing a usability test, it is not only important to have the surveyors sign a release form that gives permission for you to video and audio record their reactions and results, but also it is important that you select diverse surveyors. Use men, women, children and those from different cultures and ages. Who is your target customer? This is important to keep in mind when selecting individuals.

Follow a usability testing script. Try to select no more than five people, and make sure each session lasts no more than one hour. Not only will this keep the process inexpensive, but will make sure any feedback received is specific and qualitative.

Usability testing is an essential final step for any new website or website in need of a makeover. What works? What is broken? What should be removed? You may not know, but your potential customers do know. Do not turn a blind eye to them and they will not do the same to you.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/03/usability-testing-is-the-final-step-in-seo-marketing/feed/Creating Titles that are Optimizedhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/01/creating-titles-that-are-optimized/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/01/creating-titles-that-are-optimized/#commentsTue, 25 Jan 2011 21:04:50 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=304When writing a heading or title, who are you writing for: search engines or customers? The answer should be both. Your page title or article heading should follow a particular format so that you do not turn off customers with an inundation of words.

In regards to headings, try to keep them fewer than eight words. More than eight risks search engines listing your title with an ellipsis. The issue with this break of text when displayed in search engines is that many of these engines have a hard time properly categorizing the heading and, in turn, will lower your chances of gaining a higher SEO ranking.

Example heading: Long Waits At Airport Create Long Lines of…

In respect to website titles, do not rely solely on the slowly fading use of metatags in order to push your keywords for SEO. In fact, your title can make or break your search engine ranking. How? List specific keywords first, followed by broader words. The reason for this is that words that are listed first in a title are given the most importance in search engines.

Example: Cars For You Homepage: Car Repairs, Used Cars, New Cars

This is incorrect, as you are placing more importance on the keywords “cars, for, you, and homepage. If we were to refine this here is one way the title could look:

Car Repairs, New Cars, Used Cars: Cars For You

(Specific keywords in a title can usurp any metatags you listed.)

On a side note, many search engines, such as Google, can display up to 70 characters in a title, and just as a heading. If the title does not exceed this count, search engines will display the full title without any breakups in text, in turn paralleling the advantage of a low word count in your headings.

Follow these simple and easy to remember tips for that proliferation in website visits you have been looking for. You will not only draw the attention of search engines, but your target customers as well. Good designing.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2011/01/creating-titles-that-are-optimized/feed/The Helping Hand of Time and Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/12/the-helping-hand-of-time-and-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/12/the-helping-hand-of-time-and-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 06 Dec 2010 14:00:49 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=302An active search engine optimization plan can pull your company website to the first page of Google, drive traffic to your website, get social networks to notice you, and put your company’s name in the news. However, with time on your side, results come quicker.

Of course, time can not replace the need for an aggressive optimization strategy. Many websites with a decade behind them are still lost in back pages of search results. However, when you take an older domain name and properly optimize the content and build credible links, the results can be instantly reached.

Google’s algorithm is built to focus on one thing and one thing only. Quality. Google generates revenue through pay-per-click advertisers. In order to get companies to spend money advertising on Google, Google has to have a large searching audience. In order to get the large search audience, they have to make sure their search engine delivers quality search results for the end user. If the quality isn’t there, Google becomes the next Yahoo!.

With 81 percent market share in the United States and 91 percent worldwide, it is safe to say that Google is delivering quality. Their rules are only going to become stricter as time goes on to maintain their unofficial monopoly in the search engine market.

Just as age and experience give your business a competitive advantage, the age of your website also gives you one strong credibility point with Google when they determine your quality.

On several occasions, we have built brand new websites, optimized content, spent a couple months building links, sending news releases, and connecting websites on social networks and got our clients on the first page of Google for a few of their popular search terms in 6 to 8 weeks – a result made possible when combining aggressive SEO with a domain name that is 5 or more years old.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/12/the-helping-hand-of-time-and-search-engine-optimization/feed/Your Competition uses Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/11/your-competition-uses-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/11/your-competition-uses-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 08 Nov 2010 12:52:10 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=300Running a company is demanding. You have people depending on you.

In the back of your mind, you keep thinking about growing your business and increasing your marketing effort. You considered advertising options, maybe requested a few quotes, but other things got in the way and you never moved forward.

Some of our clients originally contacted us one to two years before signing up. They received periodic updates from us and kept their original search engine optimization proposal, but marketing their business never quite made it to the priority list. While you are putting your search engine marketing on hold, other competing companies are wasting no time claiming dominance on the web.

While you wait, other companies are building new websites. They are filling it up with pages of information and optimized content. They are posting articles on their blogs. They are sending out press releases, building traffic to their website, and getting links back to their site. They are being optimized for local searches, national searches, and getting traffic from social networks. They are being followed on Twitter by users that could be following you. Their Facebook pages are watched and read by their future clients… who could be yours.

In the age of information and an ever-evolving Internet, hesitating to take action means handing an advantage to your competition.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/11/your-competition-uses-search-engine-optimization/feed/Websites Get Wider as Monitors Get Biggerhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/10/websites-get-wider-as-monitors-get-bigger/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/10/websites-get-wider-as-monitors-get-bigger/#commentsMon, 11 Oct 2010 10:14:02 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=298When designing your company website, we have to think about current trends, future trends, and web standards. Of course, “web standards” is somewhat of an oxymoron as the web is ever changing, thus new standards are invented annually.

To keep up to speed and continue to turn out website designs that convert visitors into new clients, our design and development team has to watch trends to see where we are going and how we can push design into the future.

Fortunately, the good folks at w3 pay attention to valuable statistics that help us continue to develop quality websites. One of the current trends reported by w3 is expanding screen resolutions. Your screen resolution is just a measurement of your computer monitor’s display.

Today, the average measurement in pixels is 1280 by 1024. Less than 20 percent of web users are still using the smaller resolution of 1084 by 760 as widescreen monitors become the norm.

Why should you know this? It is important to embrace a wider website layout when you redesign your company site. Visitors have come to expect this new look and feel and will react positively to a properly designed website with the right resolution.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/10/websites-get-wider-as-monitors-get-bigger/feed/Linking Your Blog to LinkedInhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/07/linking-your-blog-to-linkedin/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/07/linking-your-blog-to-linkedin/#commentsMon, 26 Jul 2010 18:17:01 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=296Many LinkedIn users do not realize that their blogs can be syndicated to their LinkedIn profile. In order for this to work, your website’s blog has to be based on WordPress or your blog will need to be hosted at WordPress.com.

Simply log in to your LinkedIn profile and select the LinkedIn WordPress Application. Select “Add Application” then set your RSS feed URL. This is generally, yourwebsite.com/blog/feed/. If you are an existing Adviatech client, just send your login information to your account manager and they will set everything up for you as a courtesy.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/07/linking-your-blog-to-linkedin/feed/Coloring Your Search Engine Ranking Awayhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/06/coloring-your-search-engine-ranking-away/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/06/coloring-your-search-engine-ranking-away/#commentsFri, 25 Jun 2010 12:53:08 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=294Here is a topic that we recently discovered was still a problem… we hoped that such a practice was in the mid-90’s internet graveyard but its still a problem. Blending keyphrases into your website that are invisible to your readers is a technique that makes the Google Bot’s face red and will almost guarantee a delisting. However, some webmasters are still using this as a “search engine optimization” technique.

Unlike some search engine optimization techniques, this one is not up for interpretation. Some businesses, acting under the advice of misinformed “SEO Specialists,” have long lists of keywords in their website’s footer that are in the same font color as their background, thus making it invisible.

The problem is so irritating to Google that they not only mention it but built a whole section on hidden links and hidden text in their webmaster guidelines center.

Google is pretty direct in the language they use to explain the consequence of hiding keyphrases:

“If your site is perceived to contain hidden text and links that are deceptive in intent, your site may be removed from the Google index, and will not appear in search results pages.”

To check your website for hidden text, go to your web browsers top menu and click on “Edit” then “Select All.” This will highlight your entire web page and display any hidden text that your webmaster or “SEO Specialist” may have inserted.

If you find invisible words on the page, you should first demand that your webmaster remove them immediately. A termination of your agreement with them should probably come shortly thereafter as this negligible action will hinder your ability to be ranked highly in Google, and possibly hinder your ability to be ranked at all.

We recently reviewed a website for a company that had over 100 hidden words in the footer. The business owner informed us that he had paid someone to develop the website in February of this year; thus, acting as a reminder that unethical search engine optimization practices are still lurking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/06/coloring-your-search-engine-ranking-away/feed/After Two Years Some URLs Still Not SEO Friendlyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/06/after-two-years-some-urls-still-not-seo-friendly/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/06/after-two-years-some-urls-still-not-seo-friendly/#commentsMon, 07 Jun 2010 12:33:28 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=292We review of a lot of websites each week and it’s always surprising when we see URLs (website addresses) that are not SEO friendly. In 2008, Google released an official guide to search engine optimization covering the basics of what they want to see in a website. Pages 6 – 9 talk about URL structures, but many web developers are still not paying attention.

Just last week, we reviewed a website for a law firm and this particular page on the website was related to bankruptcy law.

The client’s URL was: websiteurl.com/lawyer-attorney-1267187.html.

What Google outlined in their search engine optimization guide 2 years ago, was that they want to see relevant keyphrases in the URL. So if this was our client, this page would look like the following:

Websiteurl.com/practice-areas/bankruptcy-lawyer/

This tells Google that this subpage of the site is related to one of the keyphrases we are optimizing for “bankruptcy lawyer.” The other URL mentions “lawyer” and “attorney” but does nothing to describe which of approximately 50 practice areas this particular page is discussing.

Utilizing clean descriptive URLs is something that helps your search engine ranking as well as your click conversions from search result pages.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that your website being up and without returning “not found” errors is an important aspect of getting and achieving a high ranking.

As Google visits your website to index your new content, they look for “not found” errors caused by dead links. If your website’s server is timing out, this can cause an error and make an existing page seem non-existent. If Google gets a lot of these errors, their bot may in fact lose patience with your site which will affect your ranking.

Check on your website periodically, and make sure your hosting company is working with a reliable data center that has 24/7 performance monitoring. Some downtime will always occur with hosting for server reboots, upgrade installs, etc., but frequent downtime can only be explained by poor server management.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/05/downtime-can-lower-your-search-engine-ranking/feed/Short Search Engine Optimization Wishlisthttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/04/short-search-engine-optimization-wishlist/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/04/short-search-engine-optimization-wishlist/#commentsFri, 16 Apr 2010 12:31:37 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=288The object of search engine optimization for most businesses is to reach local clientele who are in need of their product or services. It’s a pretty simple concept but getting ranked on the first page in many metro areas requires a lot of work. Google basically is looking for a short list of items.

1) Quality website – A websitethat is easy to navigate by both human users and the Googlebot.

2) Quality content – A useful website contributes something to the world in the form of valuable content. The more useful the content, the higher quantity of content, the more favor you will be granted with your ranking.

3) Inbound links – The Google democracy states that the more websites which link to a website, the higher quality the content must be. This should be achieved with content, social networks, directories and news releases.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/04/short-search-engine-optimization-wishlist/feed/Content Management Systems Become Standard for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/content-management-systems-become-standard-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/content-management-systems-become-standard-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsWed, 31 Mar 2010 15:41:35 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=285When we started this company over five years ago, content management systems were a thorn with which every search engine optimization specialist was constantly coming in contact. Their clunky feature lists and inability to customize individual titles made them a nightmare to deal with and generally resulted in futile optimization efforts.

How the times have changed. As content management systems like Wordpress and Drupal evolved, the open source programming community took over and now content management systems are actually more SEO friendly than static HTML. I’m sure many in the SEO community are still shaking their heads, so next week we will cover how not using a content management system may hinder your attorney search engine optimization.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/content-management-systems-become-standard-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Improving Website Conversion Starts with a Contact Formhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/improving-website-conversion-starts-with-a-contact-form/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/improving-website-conversion-starts-with-a-contact-form/#commentsWed, 10 Mar 2010 14:24:43 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=282If you tuck away the contact form, you are requiring the visitor to make an extra step to contact your company. The average visitor to a website will visit 2.3 pages on your site. This number can be increased if you keep a blog actively updated. However, if the homepage is the first page, the second page needs to be your contact form or else it becomes less likely that the visitor will convert to a contact.

The way to improve this is to put a short contact form on every page. Regardless of the page the visitor lands on first on your site, they have immediate access to an easy way to contact you via a short contact form. Otherwise, they may just pass your “contact us” button, read some information then leave without contacting your company.

Adding a short contact form to every page of your website is probably one of the easiest ways to improve conversion.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/improving-website-conversion-starts-with-a-contact-form/feed/Get Networked for the New Googlehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/get-networked-for-the-new-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/get-networked-for-the-new-google/#commentsMon, 01 Mar 2010 20:37:32 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=279A lot of shuffling is taking place in the Google algorithm right now. Last year, their modified algorithm named “Google Caffeine” was released for public testing. In the summer, we reviewed it and realized that they were changing for the better. In November, they announced that they would begin upgrading their data centers.

In the last couple of months, we have seen a lot of fluctuation in rankings which is a pretty good sign that the upgrade is well underway. But one of things we are also seeing is that Google is looking for a new third element, social networks.

It appears that the world’s largest search engine is paying attention to how often a website is linking with popular social networks as a way to gage popularity. Some experts even speculate that they monitor Tweets and Re-Tweets.

The clear message to take from this is that you need a social networking strategy to compete online. It’s that simple. If you are currently working with a marketing company that is not implementing a social network strategy then it’s time to change quickly to catch up with the new Google search.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/03/get-networked-for-the-new-google/feed/Robo-Tweeting Helps with SEOhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/02/robo-tweeting-helps-with-seo/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/02/robo-tweeting-helps-with-seo/#commentsWed, 17 Feb 2010 13:41:35 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=277We will admit, Twitter can be a little silly. The constant updating of barmy commentary can be a little maddening, and it’s not exactly the place you would think to plug in your business.

However, Twitter is also filled with real legitimate people. Where there are people, there is an audience and where there is an audience, you stand to get web traffic.

A couple plugins are available for your website or blog (depending on your platform), and the concept is simple. When you blog, you post a Tweet which then links back to your website. When you Tweet, you can post a blog on your website. It’s a neat package.

Contact your SEOLawFirm.com representative about including this feature in your existing website.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/02/robo-tweeting-helps-with-seo/feed/Registering Domains for More than a Year May Help Your Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/registering-domains-for-more-than-a-year-may-help-your-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/registering-domains-for-more-than-a-year-may-help-your-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 25 Jan 2010 17:21:17 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=275We previously talked about aged domain names having a benefit to your search engine optimization. If a domain name has been around a while, search engines tend to believe it has stood the test of time and must have something good to offer the web-surfing community.

What many people do not know is registering a domain for a few extra years may also help with your search engine ranking.

Registering a domain name for 2 years at a time rather than 1 shows more of a long-term commitment to your website’s domain, and some search engine optimization specialists theorize that this helps your quality score with Google and other search engines.

At an average of $10-$20 a year for domain name registrations, adding an extra year to your domain is a small investment that may yield a strong return with your search engine optimization efforts.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/registering-domains-for-more-than-a-year-may-help-your-search-engine-optimization/feed/Ping Your Blog to Broadcasthttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/ping-your-blog-to-broadcast/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/ping-your-blog-to-broadcast/#commentsMon, 18 Jan 2010 17:56:27 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=273One of our favorite features of a blog is its ability to be syndicated to multiple websites to drive links and traffic back to your site.

However, many bloggers are not aware that their blog’s RSS feed needs to get pinged in order to update the entries in Google Blog Search and other blog search engines.

Fortunately for our clients, this is done for them every month as part of their service plan, but how we do it is no secret. A simple-to-use free tool called Ping-o-Matic is the best 2 minutes each month you will spend.

To have your blog pinged simply go to http://pingomatic.com. Fill in the information about your blog and then check all relevant blog search engines to which you want to send your RSS feed. Click on “Send Pings” and wait for the status page.

Keeping the blog search engines up-to-date will help keep your information fresh and drive new traffic to your website based on the new content you post on your blog. The site is owned by the Wordpress Foundation and Wordpress users can integrate a plugin to automatically have their blog pinged every time a new entry is posted.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/ping-your-blog-to-broadcast/feed/City, State, or Nation: What to Optimize?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/city-state-or-nation-what-to-optimize/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/city-state-or-nation-what-to-optimize/#commentsTue, 12 Jan 2010 17:53:23 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=271When looking at regional search engine optimization, it is important to identify your regional target. If you have a product or service that can be delivered nationwide, a general highly competitive keyphrase would be appropriate (for example, a windmill kit). However, if you are confined to a region, then you would want a keyphrase relevant to that region (for example, Cincinnati windmill installations or Cincinnati windmill setup).

This can be applied to all industries. With attorneys, sometimes firms will want to optimize too wide of an area. For example, a personal injury firm may want to optimize for California personal injury, but they only have offices in Sacramento. Certainly, they don’t want to filter out inquiries from Los Angeles 6 hours away, so it would be better to focus on Sacramento personal injury.

Other industries, like insurance, may be able to write policies statewide but prefer a more local feel for their agency. So in this case, the insurance agency would have to decide whether they want to fight for a statewide term or focus regionally within their closest major metro area.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/city-state-or-nation-what-to-optimize/feed/Focusing you SEO on Top to Get on Tophttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/focusing-you-seo-on-top-to-get-on-top/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/focusing-you-seo-on-top-to-get-on-top/#commentsFri, 08 Jan 2010 17:47:42 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=269Much of what the search engines judge you by is the information and keyphrases that appear at the top of the page. That is one thing that search engine bots and users have in common.

Therefore, it is important to establish what you do and where you are located at the top of the page starting with the first paragraph. If you are a dentist in Cleveland you would want your header to reflect that with “Cleveland Dentist Dr. Smith.” If you are a divorce lawyer in Boston, your header should reflect “Boston Divorce Lawyer” or “Boston Divorce Attorney.”

Following that, the paragraph should mention the keyphrase.

On the dentist site, that could look something like “Dr. Smith has been serving the area as a Cleveland Dentist for over a decade.”

For the attorney’s website, the first sentence should be something similar to “Selecting an experienced Boston divorce attorney for your case can make a positive difference in how your Massachusetts divorce is settled.”

By pushing your keyphrases to the top of the page, you can establish where you are and what you do so that the search engines can rank you accordingly.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2010/01/focusing-you-seo-on-top-to-get-on-top/feed/The Google Rankings Are Changinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/12/the-google-rankings-are-changing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/12/the-google-rankings-are-changing/#commentsTue, 15 Dec 2009 21:33:32 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=267Earlier in the summer, we did a podcast episode on Google Caffeine (http://www.adviatech.com/google-we-are-ready-for-some-caffeine/), the next generation of the Google core search engine. We were very excited and anxious for this technology to become the norm.

Just recently, Google announced that they would begin implementing the new technology in their datacenters. This is going to happen gradually over time so some users will continue to see the old Google and others (as our office has experienced) will see the new.

With this change, you can expect to see your rankings change. As we experienced when testing Google Caffeine, our clients ranked considerably better than in the current Google version so we are especially excited about Google Caffeine becoming the norm.

More emphasis is placed on quality links and quality content. It also filters out websites that make duplicate websites to help control certain keywords. Websites that are currently doing well based on “anything goes” linking will probably see a decline in their search engine rankings whereas other websites (like our clients) who have strong social network and blog based links and monthly updated content on their blogs will more than likely experience higher placement.

So if you see some new faces in the search results, don’t be alarmed; Google’s rankings are changing for the better.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/12/the-google-rankings-are-changing/feed/The H1 Tag is for Search Engine Optimization - Not Company Nameshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/12/the-h1-tag-is-for-search-engine-optimization-not-company-names/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/12/the-h1-tag-is-for-search-engine-optimization-not-company-names/#commentsMon, 07 Dec 2009 00:15:55 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=264For those of you who do not know what an H1, H2, or H3 tag is, basically it is the larger font toward the top of your website. It is important that this area of your site reflect your keyphrases and NOT your company name or a generic “Welcome to our website.”

To see an example, visit SEOLawfirm.com. The top H1 tag says, “Law firm marketing is evolving at SEOLawFirm.com.” In this case, were able to start with a keyphrase and end with our company name, thus doing two things at once. The result? SEOLawFirm.com ranks on the first page of Google for “law firm marketing.”

To see another example, visit ReadytoQuote.com. The top H1 tag says, “Insurance Marketing and Search Engine Optimization.” Notice we start with our primary keyphrase of “Insurance Marketing.” The result? ReadytoQuote.com ranks on the first page of Google for “Insurance Marketing.”

Several marketing and web development companies have content management systems that are exclusive to their service. If things do not work out between your firm and the company, you have to start all over because they are not giving you their management system to take to a new web host.

Make sure your content management is like ours; compatible with most web hosting companies around the world. In fact, our system is compatible with any Linux based hosting that offers PHP and a mySQL database – that is 99% of them.

Usually, widely compatible software is easier to use than proprietary software. With its popularity comes user input. From that, programmers can make changes to make the user experience easier. A proprietary application can only grow when the owning company wants to pay for upgrades, which generally means new features are slow to arrive.

Ask your web service provider if your content management system is portable; meaning capable of being moved to a new host. Knowing this information will help you plan for your future website needs.

If you have a blog on your website, you should submit it to Google Blog Search.

First, locate your feed URL. Generally, toward the bottom of the blog page you will see a link that says “syndicate” or an orange button that says RSS, ATOM, or XML. If you see any of those items, click on it.

Second, take your feed URL (generally yourwebsite.com/blog/feed) to http://blogsearch.google.com/ping. After a week, your blogs should appear in Google Blog Search. Most popular blogging platforms like WordPress, will offer you the option of automatically “pinging” Google Blog Search every time you update your blog. Doing this will automate the blog search submission and keep your Google Blog Search listings up-to-date.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/google-blog-search/feed/Redundancy Can Work Against SEOhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/redundancy-can-work-against-seo/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/redundancy-can-work-against-seo/#commentsMon, 09 Nov 2009 16:47:43 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=258A big mistake that many businesses make with their website content is wording it as if they were introducing themselves at a business meeting. The stale, “We specialize in widgets and whatnots,” just does not work when you are trying to convert your web traffic to new business.

Your website’s content is important for search engines and your visitors. Make it too keyphrase oriented and your visitors will get irritated by the redundancy. Also, if you don’t use inclusive language, your website is going to sound like a mundane commercial.

Here are a couple examples. We will assume that you are in the business of making blue widgets. Blue widgets solve everybody’s problems thus “blue widget” is your primary keyphrase. What better company to provide blue widgets than Widgitech?

Redundant Content – All of us at Widgitech believe that there is not a better blue widget solution then the Widgitech blue widget. These days, everybody needs a blue widget. Blue widgets make modern civilization possible. Nobody makes a better blue widget than the blue widget enthusiast at Widgitech… your blue widget specialist.

Notice that they go a little overboard with the talk of “blue widgets.”

SEO Visitor Friendly Content – Blue widgets are what make modern civilization possible. We understand that. For years, Widgitech has put quality and innovation at the core of our company to make sure that the Widgitech blue widget is the last blue widget you will every buy.

In both examples, we use the keyword a few times. However, the second statement puts the keyphrase in a less redundant manner. It is safe to say that the second version is both visitor friendly and SEO friendly, and would also look appropriate on a printed brochure. The first one would not.

Be descriptive with your content and do not be afraid to periodically use your keyphrases. However, keep your content interesting and maintain a balance. Doing so will impress your visitors as well as the search engines.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/redundancy-can-work-against-seo/feed/A Simple Sitemap Takes Your Search Engine Marketing a Long Wayhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/a-simple-sitemap-takes-your-search-engine-marketing-a-long-way/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/a-simple-sitemap-takes-your-search-engine-marketing-a-long-way/#commentsMon, 02 Nov 2009 21:14:36 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=255One of the oldest search engine optimization tools around is actually one of the few that is still effective. Sitemaps have been around as long as the Internet has been commercially available.

Basically, a standard sitemap is just a page that links to all of the pages on your website in a neatly categorized form. By having a sitemap, the search engines are able to immediately get a list of all the pages they need to index within your site.

By making this process easy on the search engines, you ensure getting your entire page properly indexed. Visit Adviatech’s sitemap page as an example at http://www.adviatech.com/sitemap/.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/11/a-simple-sitemap-takes-your-search-engine-marketing-a-long-way/feed/Internet Explorer 6 - Abandoning the Browsasaurushttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/internet-explorer-6-abandoning-the-browsasaurus/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/internet-explorer-6-abandoning-the-browsasaurus/#commentsMon, 26 Oct 2009 19:54:47 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=253Internet Explorer 6 is the thorn in the design and programming community that keeps getting sharper. In spite of its constant glitches, website design distortions and a series of other problems, nearly 15% of web surfers (according to w3.org) are still using Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

The web browser was originally released in 2001, which means there is a good chance that car in your driveway is newer than the web browser you are using to surf websites in 2009. The problem that IE6 causes for designers, programmers and the search engine optimization community is its lack of support for style sheets and other widely used design and programming elements.

By having to design and program for 15% of your potential market, developers are forced to use programming hacks to make items display in IE6. This can often cause errors in your code that are unavoidable unless you wish to sacrifice browser compatibility for IE6 users.

Firefox – You can also join the 47% of the web that uses Firefox as their primary web browser. With a series of add-ons, weekly updates and an opensource (free) development community backing it, this is (in our opinion) the best way to see the web. Give it a try at http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/.

Google Chrome – Google’s web browser, Chrome, has made a big dent in the web browser market compared to older Internet Explorer foes Safari and Opera. Claiming 7% of market share, Google Chrome offers some unique browser features and a nice cool interface. Windows users can download it at http://www.google.com/chrome and Mac users can join an anxious waiting list at http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html.

The end result of upgrading your browser will lead to a world wide web full of clean pretty code that does not need IE6 hacks and patches; and for you, a better more secure web browsing experience.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/internet-explorer-6-abandoning-the-browsasaurus/feed/Syndicating Links for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/syndicating-links-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/syndicating-links-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 19 Oct 2009 17:01:25 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=251To get to the first page of Google and other search engines, you need links to your website. That is to say, you know other websites to link to yours without you linking back to them. By now, most people looking into search engine optimization have heard that.

What is the best way to do that? Content and syndication. When an article is written about your company and posted into blogs that syndicate into Google Blog Search, article directories, how-to’s, etc, then it becomes available for the public to use.

As your content is used in other blogs, websites, and syndicated using RSS (really simple syndication) feeds, your link is syndicated with it; thus, rapidly building your inbound links.

While Google discourages link exchanges, they always encourage the development of new quality (heavy emphasis on quality) content.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/syndicating-links-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/How much is too much information?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/how-much-is-too-much-information/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/how-much-is-too-much-information/#commentsMon, 12 Oct 2009 18:44:23 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=249Content, content, content. The search engines want your website to provide valuable content and lots of it, but is it possible to have too much?
Having a website filled with useful content is a necessary part of search engine optimization. Providing information, links to valuable resources, and content relevant to your industry is a surefire way to enhance your search engine optimization as well as your overall website experience.

However, too much of the same information could bore your visitors. When adding content to your website make sure it’s interesting and useful. If you keep posting the same thing, your visitors may not share the search engine’s opinion and while you may rank higher in Google, your conversion will be lower.

In short, provide as much relevant, interesting content as possible. Google and your visitors will reward your investment.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/10/how-much-is-too-much-information/feed/Filtering Search Engine Traffic on Your Websitehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/filtering-search-engine-traffic-on-your-website/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/filtering-search-engine-traffic-on-your-website/#commentsMon, 28 Sep 2009 17:05:53 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=247A major concern for many regionally focused website owners (such as attorneys) is limiting the traffic to fit their niche. For example, a divorce attorney that specializes in high profile cases can’t optimize his website for “high net worth divorce lawyer.” Such a term probably gets very little traffic.

The solution is optimizing wide and filtering out your traffic with your website’s content. So in the above case, the attorney should optimize for their local region and just the term “divorce,” then make use of their website’s styling, content and wording to filter out the smaller cases in which they don’t specialize.

This is effective for most industries as well. Optimize wide then filter the unwanted traffic with your website.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/filtering-search-engine-traffic-on-your-website/feed/The Annoying Side of the Web – Stop the Noisehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-stop-the-noise/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-stop-the-noise/#commentsMon, 21 Sep 2009 16:33:15 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=245Continuing with our series on the “Annoying Side of the Web,” this week’s topic is noise. Remember the early days of the Internet when you could embed background music? You would visit a website and a little ragtime tune would pop up.

It may have been neat at the time, but nowadays more visitors than not find background music to be annoying. If you feel the need to make your site a multimedia experience, perhaps you can work with your designer to integrate soft button rollover sound effects or something less intruding.

Minor sound effects can add a little flavor to a website (when done with great moderation) but if you have background music that doesn’t fit your visitors’ moods, you could be asking for a quick click away from your online presence.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-stop-the-noise/feed/The Annoying Side of the Web – Matching Text with Backgroundhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-matching-text-with-background/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-matching-text-with-background/#commentsMon, 14 Sep 2009 16:31:18 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=242Over the next few weeks we are going to point out some irritating features found on certain websites. This week, it’s all about colors.

Do you know why black ink is still printed on white/off white paper even though colored printing is cheaply accessible? Because it’s easy to read. When you pick up a book, the text easily lifts off the page and allows you to focus on the words without effort. So if you are printing red text on a black background or white text on a soft gray background on your website, you are making your visitors work harder to understand your content.

Color is great for websites, but it should be included in graphics, page borders and other enhancing elements of the site; however when it comes to text, nothing is more refreshing than black and white.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/the-annoying-side-of-the-web-%e2%80%93-matching-text-with-background/feed/Why You Should Be Blogging for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/why-you-should-be-blogging-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/why-you-should-be-blogging-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2009 17:37:30 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=239Having a blog on your website is as much required as your phone number and contact information. An onsite blog will allow you to offer your visitors concise information related to your area of practice and it keeps your website growing with new pages of content on a regular basis.

The word blog is a contraction of “web-log.” In the early days of commercial Internet access, message boards and forums did what blogs now do. The goal of the blog was to offer a simple to edit interface that allowed anyone of any skill level to add entries to a website/blog, generally based on a niche topic.

The additional features, like user commenting, can add a community feeling to your website, but the effort involved in moderating comments for spam and inappropriate messages generally leads companies to disable that feature (as we generally recommend).

The other benefit of a blog is increased exposure through RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feeds. All popular blogs offer an RSS feed which basically takes your blog entries and syndicates them into other blogs, search engines and forums.

You may not know this but Google has a search engine just for blogs called “Google Blog Search.” By your website having a blog, you are eligible to have your blog entries published (and syndicated through) Google Blog Search – a free service.

So along with having your website listed in Google’s main search engine, adding an onsite blog will allow your blog entries to be displayed in Google’s Blog specific search engine, thus leading to additional exposure.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/09/why-you-should-be-blogging-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Thinking Local for Search Engine Optimization May Yield Greater Resultshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/thinking-local-for-search-engine-optimization-may-yield-greater-results/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/thinking-local-for-search-engine-optimization-may-yield-greater-results/#commentsMon, 31 Aug 2009 20:33:32 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=237When laying out your search engine marketing plan, you should first decide whether you want to attract the whole world, the whole country or your neighborhood. Thinking too big at first may actually give you less traffic.

Just as an example, we will use a Florida divorce attorney who has offices all across the state. The keyword “Florida divorce lawyer” gets (according to Adwords) 3,600 inquiries each month.

However, let’s look at the major metro areas and combine their numbers.

If this hypothetical law firm had offices in these four cities in Florida and optimized individually, they would have exposure to 4,050 searches, all of which coming from relevant users that were in those respective cities. However, with Florida divorce lawyer, those 3,600 users may or may not be searching in the city with the supported office.

By focusing on local cities, you will be exposing your business to a more relevant audience as well as a bigger collective audience.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/thinking-local-for-search-engine-optimization-may-yield-greater-results/feed/What RSS Can do for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/what-rss-can-do-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/what-rss-can-do-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 24 Aug 2009 19:23:43 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=235RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. With a name like Really Simple Syndication, the workings for a beginner can be anything but simple.

Most popular blog platforms will automatically generate RSS feeds. Blogs like Wordpress, Blogger and TypePad will create an RSS feed based on your blog entries. Then other blog owners can receive your RSS feed and subscribe to your content. Or they can subscribe to your content using an RSS feed aggregator like the freely available Mr. RSS Puller (http://mrrsspuller.sourceforge.net/).

RSS feeds allow people to customize the information they receive. If you like the technology section of the USA Today, but the political commentary of the Washington Post, then subscribe only to those categories. If you are interested in what is getting published on other websites, plug in their feed and have it automatically updated.

On the marketing side, having an RSS feed readily available will increase the number of eyes that have access to your content and if they syndicate your content onto another website, the RSS feed can also build new inbound links to your website.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/what-rss-can-do-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Claiming Your Google Local Adhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/claiming-your-google-local-ad/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/claiming-your-google-local-ad/#commentsMon, 17 Aug 2009 19:26:56 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=233Google Local is yet another way of marketing your website online. When someone searches for your business’ products or services in your local area through Google Maps, your Google Local ad is what appears.

Google Local results use the same national telephone directories that Yellow Pages style websites and business directories use, along with user submitted ads. If you have an ad in Google Local yet never submitted one, you are going to have to claim it.

To do so, go to http://maps.google.com. Then search for your business name using your company name, city and state. When you see your business on the left side of the screen click on it.

Now, look to the right on the map. The last link in your business listing is “edit.” You can click on this button, login using a Gmail or Google Account, and make changes to your Google Local ad. You can also add pictures and coupons. Be sure to use keywords in your business description to encourage better placement.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/claiming-your-google-local-ad/feed/Defining SEO Company Ethicshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/defining-seo-company-ethics/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/defining-seo-company-ethics/#commentsMon, 10 Aug 2009 20:35:56 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=231There is much talk on the web about black hat search engine optimization, white hat search engine optimization, and even gray hat for the SEO companies that like to work in the middle. But what is ethical and unethical? They’re just search engines, right?

Basically, ethical practices are determined by the search engines. “Black hat” SEO practices are not illegal, you won’t go to jail, and chances are, you won’t be sued. However, the negative effect of link exchanges, keyword spamming, unscrupulous linking, and other discouraged practices is that your website will quickly respond to these changes and rank highly in a short period of time before plummeting into the abyss of flagged search engine results.

White hat or ethical practices generally include monitored link building, investigating websites before having them link to your website, using content distribution, blogging, and other forms of distributing unique textual content to build links. It also includes quality from website design to onsite optimization.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/defining-seo-company-ethics/feed/If Not MySpace, Where Should I Do Business Social Networking?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/if-not-myspace-where-should-i-do-business-social-networking/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/if-not-myspace-where-should-i-do-business-social-networking/#commentsSat, 08 Aug 2009 00:23:28 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=229In keeping with this week’s focus on social networking, our tip of the week is not to use MySpace for business networking.

Many other services exist that offer more business-friendly features. Here are a few:

1) Facebook for Business (not to be confused with regular Facebook) – Facebook teamed up with Visa to form the Facebook Visa Business Network (http://apps.facebook.com/visabusiness/sign_up). This version of Facebook is less “fluffy” and has tools that make it more conducive to business social networking.

2) Adviatech Connect – Adviatech believes that if you want to learn the ins and outs of something, try building your own version. Thus, our business social network (http://connect.adviatech.com) is entirely based around the needs of businesses. You can publish marketing literature, a blog, photo gallery, and most importantly connect with like-minded professionals. With this social network being fully funded and sponsored by Adviatech, you won’t have to worry about third party competing advertisements being displayed on your profile page as it is an ad-free social network.

3) Fast Pitch Networking – Fastpitch is a premium network (about $30 per quarter) that is entirely for entrepreneurs, corporate executives and professionals. They offer several nice enhancements like press release distribution, video publishing, email marketing, and the ability to market to their large nationwide user base.

Ultimately, you need to use a social network that focuses on business rather than gossip to get the most out of your social networking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/08/if-not-myspace-where-should-i-do-business-social-networking/feed/Do News Feeds Help Search Engine Optimization?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/do-news-feeds-help-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/do-news-feeds-help-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2009 19:22:43 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=227A misconception among those involved in search engine optimization for their own websites is that news feeds will drastically help their search engine ranking. This is a partial fact.

It is true; using an RSS feed to bring in frequently updated content helps out a little. It offers a valuable benefit to your visitors as well as a minor benefit to your search engine ranking. However, for optimal performance, make sure your SEO company is always adding new original content to your website.

Another misconception is that your website needs to constantly be changing. That is not true. Your website needs to constantly be growing. Adding unique content (content you write or content written exclusively for your company) can achieve this element and ultimately make your website look more substantial, thus resulting in a better ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/do-news-feeds-help-search-engine-optimization/feed/Knowing Where to Go to Submit to Search Engineshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/knowing-where-to-go-to-submit-to-search-engines/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/knowing-where-to-go-to-submit-to-search-engines/#commentsMon, 20 Jul 2009 16:52:43 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=225There are a lot of phony services out there that promise to do useless things for the optimization of your website. The most popular is the submission of your website to thousands of search engines.

However, there are not really thousands of search engines, just 5: Google, Yahoo, Cuil, Ask, and Bing (formerly Live.com which was formerly MSN search). Other “search engines” like AOL.com, Search.com, and others just pull from one of those 5 search engines.

Certainly others may exist, but their search volume is negligible. To submit to the 5 search engines, you don’t need to pay anything, just know where to go.

Hopefully these links will help you. Remember, you can submit a website a hundred times and it will NOT improve your ranking. Ultimately, it’s a matter of what you are submitting and how many others are linking to it.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/knowing-where-to-go-to-submit-to-search-engines/feed/I Want My SEO Company to Get Me on Page One Todayhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/i-want-my-seo-company-to-get-me-on-page-one-today/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/i-want-my-seo-company-to-get-me-on-page-one-today/#commentsMon, 13 Jul 2009 17:08:59 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=223Natural search engine optimization is the process in which your website gets ranked in the center listings, based on the merits of the site. Both quality and quantity come into play with content and the number of links to your website. Over 70% of search traffic goes to the natural listings so why wouldn’t you want to immediately rise to the top?

If anybody tells you they can have you naturally ranked on the first page overnight, save yourself a lot of money and headaches by walking away. Getting into the top 3-5 rankings of popular search terms can take several months. If everybody could fly to the top overnight, Google’s rankings would be irrelevant and unstable. In fact, it’s this complicated stability that makes Google the leader in the search industry and is why they claim a strong majority of searches over Yahoo and MSN Search with a new logo (Bing).

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/07/i-want-my-seo-company-to-get-me-on-page-one-today/feed/To Tweet or Not to Tweet for Search Engine Marketinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet-for-search-engine-marketing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet-for-search-engine-marketing/#commentsMon, 22 Jun 2009 19:00:00 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=220Twitter. Mention Twitter at a cocktail party and you will simultaneously hear roars of love and hate. But is it really any good for your business?

It can be. As a business, you can use Twitter as a 140 character newsletter. Is something exciting happening? Send it out on Twitter. Something new is coming out? Send it on Twitter. Have some meaningless information that is of no value to anyone? Most users send that on Twitter too… but as a business, keep it under your hat.

Just as your conversation is moderately different when talking to friends over drinks than it is when speaking to a client, your Twitter profile is no different. When using Twitter as a business tool, keep your topics relevant to your business, professional, and useful. By doing that, Twitter could become a valuable traffic source for your website.

The application was customized to make it search engine friendly by allowing members to post blog entries, marketing literature, and connect with other businesses. Most importantly, we allow hyperlinking keyphrases.

Whenever you post a blog entry in Adviatech Connect and a keyphrase is mentioned within your content (for example: Boston divorce lawyer), highlight the keyphrase, then click on the chain link icon. When the pop-up shows up, type in your full website address including the “www” and click “OK.” You will then have hyperlinked a keyphrase.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/using-business-social-network-connectadviatechcom/feed/Learn from Search Engine Marketing Professionalshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/learn-from-search-engine-marketing-professionals/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/learn-from-search-engine-marketing-professionals/#commentsMon, 08 Jun 2009 16:31:15 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=216One of the easiest ways to get on the fast track of search engine marketing success is to talk to someone who has been there. Of course you can contact Adviatech at 1.800.728.5306 or visit us at http://www.adviatech.com. You can also visit our favorite online resource, SEOMoz.

SEOMoz.org offers a handful of useful tutorials related to search engine optimization. They offer a subscription package or your can visit their YouMoz section for free, which offers tips and tricks to SEO written by search engine marketing professionals. You can visit this section at http://www.seomoz.org/ugc.

Adviatech is not affiliated with SEOMoz, we just wanted to point out a useful resource to help you understand more about search engine optimization.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/learn-from-search-engine-marketing-professionals/feed/Learning Search Engine Marketing with Podcastshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/learning-search-engine-marketing-with-podcasts/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/06/learning-search-engine-marketing-with-podcasts/#commentsMon, 01 Jun 2009 19:11:56 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=214If you don’t have time to read about search engine optimization, you may consider subscribing to some search engine marketing related podcasts.

Podcasts are generally between 5 and 15 minutes except for more widely distributed ones like those produced by NPR, which are generally half hour shows. You can download iTunes and search through their directory of podcasts, then simply click on the subscribe button for your selection. Each time a new show is available, iTunes will download it for you to listen.

You can transfer the podcasts to your iPod or other MP3 player then plug it into your car. A lot of useful information if available through these productions.

It was toward the end of 2004 when Tampa based American Marketing Management and Motivation Services, Inc., (AMMMS) met with the recently retired Jason Bland. AMMMS, founded in 1994, was led by Christopher Kazor and offered web design, development, and other marketing products.

Bland had recently sold his company, which had holdings in both hardware and software technologies, and while nobody believed it would last long, he insisted he was going to relax for a while.

“I met Chris in Tampa, back in ’99, at a business event that I attended on behalf of my previous company.” Bland continues, “After I sold that company in 2004, the plan was to relax and take a few years off. Chris had other plans.”

It was in December of 2004 that Christopher Kazor asked Jason to meet him and a client at the AMMMS office in Tampa one evening. Kazor closed the call with “By the way, come up with a company name on your way in.”

The name Adviatech was derived from Advertising viaTechnology. The meeting at the AMMMS office was successful, a check was written to Adviatech Corp., and at that moment, a company was born.

When doing a quarterly financial review in 2008, Bland saw that Adviatech’s growth was far beyond projections and decided it was time to invest in Adviatech’s brand.

Kazor recalls, “Originally, I was not a fan of the rebranding proposal and certainly not interested in changing Adviatech’s logo. We later agreed to move forward with the understanding that the concept of our logo would have to stay the same.”

For the logo update and rebranding, Adviatech turned to Lorandt Egri. Lorandt created the first Adviatech logo in 2005 and has created the identities for the Adviatech holdings and subsidiaries since then. His job was to create a logo that reflected the original concept while making it blend with the new focus on social networking. The red logo also had to work with the new website design, which was to be blue.

Lorandt’s creation of a new logo that maintained the original concept and his fusion of the logo with the website design have resulted in a new brand that will carry Adviatech into the future.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/rebranding-of-search-engine-marketing-company-adviatech-gets-completed/feed/Know Where You Stand with Googlehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/know-where-you-stand-with-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/know-where-you-stand-with-google/#commentsWed, 27 May 2009 16:31:16 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=207Just as it helps to monitor your credit, it also helps to monitor your search engine credit. Google assigns a quality number to each website called Google Pagerank.

Your Pagerank number goes from 0 – being a new website or worthless website – to 10 being the absolute best. To give you an idea of the scale, Youtube.com and Wikipedia.org are Pagerank 9 websites. CNN is a Pagerank 10.

With that said, a healthy and realistic Pagerank goal for a business website is between 3 and 6. Keep in mind, your Pagerank number only changes a couple times a year so if your number is the same for several months into your search engine marketing, don’t be discouraged.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/know-where-you-stand-with-google/feed/For Search Engine Marketing Sake, Be Interestinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/for-search-engine-marketing-sake-be-interesting/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/for-search-engine-marketing-sake-be-interesting/#commentsTue, 19 May 2009 19:25:18 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=204When writing your website content, it’s important not only to have a lot of text but also have useful, interesting text. If you have pages and pages of boring literature, nobody will read it or want to link to it.

If your company has multiple employees or departments that specialize in various fields, you should have them write the content for those relevant pages. Recently, SEOLawFirm.com’s parent company, Adviatech, finished a complete corporate rebranding and redevelopment of Adviatech.com. When writing all new content, Adviatech turned to the individuals who specialize in the various fields from search engine marketing, writing, designing, and social networking.

The result is a collection of pages written by experts. Utilizing this same technique for your website will allow you to populate your website with relevant content that will surely attract natural inbound links and convert your visitors to clients.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/for-search-engine-marketing-sake-be-interesting/feed/Search Engine Optimization and Hostinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/search-engine-optimization-and-hosting/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/search-engine-optimization-and-hosting/#commentsFri, 15 May 2009 17:27:43 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=202A hosting provider is an important part of your search engine marketing. I’m reminded of a client of ours from several years ago. Their ecommerce website was ranked number 2 on the first page of Google for their main keyphrase, clearly a successful search engine optimization campaign. But, they were hosting their website with a cheap “bargain bin” hosting provider.

With search engine marketing, links are always being built with the content that is getting published each month. That means Google and other search engines are visiting your website to update it frequently, because of their crawler running into your website more often. Our client’s hosting provider was frequently having database outages and one day, that happened while Google was looking.

Their once first page ranking disappeared a few days after and their search engine listing suddenly looked like this:

SQL Query Error
Cannot connect to sql database.

Uptime is extremely important for your website and therefore a solid quality hosting provider should be selected. Paying $5-$10 a month more is a small premium to pay to not lose your search engine ranking.

That particular incident happened before we offered hosting, but we were able to convince our client to move to a reputable hosting provider that would provide uptime and a solid web server environment. Also, after 6 weeks, we were able to repair their ranking (a process further delayed by more periodic SQL errors prior to their switch) but that was 6 weeks of lost business, easily preventable by using a good hosting provider.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/05/search-engine-optimization-and-hosting/feed/When Search Engine Optimizing, Focus on the Winnershttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/when-search-engine-optimizing-focus-on-the-winners/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/when-search-engine-optimizing-focus-on-the-winners/#commentsThu, 30 Apr 2009 16:42:17 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=200When seeking a search engine optimization company, some businesses have unrealistic expectations. Often times, we receive requests like, “I want to be number one on everything!”

The truth is, the majority of the internet’s search traffic doesn’t come from “everywhere,” it comes from Google. A much smaller portion comes from Yahoo, and an ignorable portion comes from Microsoft’s Live.com.

All three of those search engines have their own guidelines and ideals about what searchers want to see. However, Google is the toughest, most used, and the most open about what they expect from a website.

So when beginning a search engine marketing effort, just focus on the big search engines. Ultimately, that is from where your investment return will come.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/when-search-engine-optimizing-focus-on-the-winners/feed/Targeting Your Region with Search Engine Marketinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/targeting-your-region-with-search-engine-marketing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/targeting-your-region-with-search-engine-marketing/#commentsThu, 30 Apr 2009 16:39:58 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=198Your regional focus is an important element of your search engine marketing. At first you may want to focus on a large area that you can fully service, or a small suburban area that isolates your company from a larger market.

If your service is regional (legal, medical, financial, etc), then focus on your closest metro area. More people search for terms using the closest metro area in the keyphrase than their state or county.

However, if you can effectively service your entire state, then you should focus individually on the metro areas within your state as well as the state itself.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/targeting-your-region-with-search-engine-marketing/feed/Search Engine Marketing - When PageRank Changeshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/search-engine-marketing-when-pagerank-changes/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/search-engine-marketing-when-pagerank-changes/#commentsTue, 14 Apr 2009 20:42:09 +0000sbrennanhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=196Google PageRank is the algorithm that makes Google what it is. Your website’s PageRank number is a quality stamp from Google. A PageRank of 1 means your website is either new, not linked to by third party websites, or of minimal quality. A PageRank of 7 to 10 means you are probably a web giant like YouTube, MySpace, or Twitter.

A big concern is when your website’s PageRank does not change over time – but fear not, this is normal. Your website’s rankings will often improve with search engine optimization while your PageRank number will only be updated once or twice a year unless you quickly become a giant; for example, YouTube’s PageRank changed rapidly during its first few months as it become wildly popular.

A quick trip to the Wikipedia will show you a picture of the PageRank algorithm (graphical demonstration) and share some interesting trivia. For example, PageRank is a registered trademark of Google Inc., but the PageRank Algorithm patent is owned by Stanford University. Google Inc. simply has exclusive rights to its use.

Last week, we talked about the basics of Twitter. If you missed it, here is a quick recap.

Twitter combines the publicity of a blog with the simplicity of text messages. You’re rather limited with 140 characters per post. Everyone from doctors to senators to gossiping teenagers use Twitter. They use a “nofollow” tag which means Google will not credit a link from Twitter to your account.

There is value in Twitter from a business point of view. To start, go to http://twitter.com and create an account. Setup a profile with your business name, phone number, and website address. Tada! You are now plugged into Twitter.

Now, a few times a week, post a 140 character message. A general tip, ideas, current events — anything relevant to your business is a good Twitter post; also known as “Tweets” in our office.

Once you have a couple weeks of posts, or Tweets, it’s time to start letting people know you exist.

At the top of Twitter, click on “Find People.” This is where you type in your target market, which is easier to do if you are business to business. For an example, we will type in “doctor.” Go through the list and click on “Follow” for everyone who seems to be a doctor, based on their description.

All people you follow will get an email saying, “___________ (your name) is following you on Twitter.” Often, people will visit the profiles of their followers and if they find the profile interesting enough, they may decide to follow you; thus, building your follower base on Twitter.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/04/twitter-me-that/feed/Twitter Me Thishttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/twitter-me-this/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/twitter-me-this/#commentsMon, 30 Mar 2009 14:14:54 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=191We will write a more detailed article about Twitter in the future; but for now, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions about Twitter.

1) What is Twitter? – Essentially, Twitter takes the simplicity of a short text message and combines it with the public access of a blog. So, you can update your “Twitter blog” with 140 character messages.

2) Who uses Twitter? – Everyone from teenagers, to doctors during surgeries, and U.S. Senators; sometimes during the presidential address.

3) Will it help my inbound link population? – No. Twitter uses a “nofollow” tag. If you link to your website from a Twitter post, Google will see the link, but not credit it to your domain as a link because of the “nofollow” tag.

4) Can Twitter help my business? – Yes, Twitter can help your business.

Next week, we will go into more detail about Twitter and how you can use it to help your business. Until then, feel free to connect with us at http://twitter.com/adviatech.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/twitter-me-this/feed/Convert Web Traffic by Upgrading Your Designhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/convert-web-traffic-by-upgrading-your-design/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/convert-web-traffic-by-upgrading-your-design/#commentsMon, 30 Mar 2009 14:11:17 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=189Some companies come to us with websites that have quality, insightful content, and pages of valuable information. However, the search engines are not ranking them favorably and the traffic they are getting does not convert to contact requests or new cases.

Often times, the problem lies in the design. Clean, professional design instills confidence in the end user. If your website looks free or unprofessional, it also makes the website and your business look temporary.

Overall, the theme this week is “your law firm can compete and succeed online.” It just takes dedicated search engine marketing and a professional look.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/convert-web-traffic-by-upgrading-your-design/feed/Autoplay Videos May Turn Off Visitorshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/autoplay-videos-may-turn-off-visitors/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/autoplay-videos-may-turn-off-visitors/#commentsMon, 16 Mar 2009 13:56:36 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=186Since the technology became available to make videos quickly play on the internet, many companies have been including them on their website. The presence of a video on your website will neither help nor hurt your search engine ranking, (provided it does not replace textual content) but it may help with conversion.

However, when someone goes to a website and a video involuntarily plays, many web surfers get annoyed. What if the user is at work? In a public area? In church? (OK, the last one we made up, but you get the point.) Audio should never autoplay.

You probably will not irritate anyone by making them hit play, but it is likely someone will get turned off by your video automatically playing.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/autoplay-videos-may-turn-off-visitors/feed/Knowing the Right Keyphrases for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/knowing-the-right-keyphrases-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/knowing-the-right-keyphrases-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsWed, 11 Mar 2009 12:50:15 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=184Many times we get new clients who are already ranked on the first page of Google and other search engines, but are not getting new business. Why is that? It’s because the search engine marketing company prior to our company did not research the keyphrases.

Being on the first page for popular keyphrases is much more important than being on the first page for basic keyphrases . Oh yes, people need to be searching for those terms in order for them to work.

Doing keyphrase research and looking at the search count for various keyphrases should be the very first thing your search engine optimization company does, prior to changing anything on your website.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/knowing-the-right-keyphrases-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Sharing Buttons Help with Search Engine Marketinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/sharing-buttons-help-with-search-engine-marketing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/sharing-buttons-help-with-search-engine-marketing/#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2009 15:27:59 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=181A simple search engine marketing technique to keep your visitors coming back is actually a free cut-and-paste program. Social bookmarks and favorite places allow web surfers to save the websites they have visited (like yours) in a folder to easily retrieve the websites at a later date.

With so many social networks and social bookmarking profiles out there (Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Stumbledupon and iGoogle; to name a few) it’s difficult to choose just one to offer a quick way to include your website in your visitors’ bookmarks/favorite places.

Fortunately, you can visit Addthis.com, fill out a short sign up form, and paste the “Addthis” button on your website. It has a pull-down menu with a list of the most popular social networks and social bookmark websites. Your visitors can simply add your website to their bookmarks/favorites with a single click of their mouse.

Search engine optimization is about getting visitors to your website. Once they are there, tools like “Addthis” help convert your visitors to new clients.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/03/sharing-buttons-help-with-search-engine-marketing/feed/Joomla is NOT Search Engine Optimization Friendlyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/joomla-is-not-search-engine-optimization-friendly/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/joomla-is-not-search-engine-optimization-friendly/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2009 11:50:50 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=179Recently we experienced a situation with one of our clients. During their first year of search engine marketing through our search engine optimization services, the client was on the first page of Google for their two highly competitive keyphrases. Then, when Google updated their systems in 2008, the website fell off the search results map.

They came to us with Joomla (an open source content management program related to the Mambo project) and we had our reservations.

After the Google upgrade and the fallen ranking, the client called us in distress as their page one ranking was a solid part of their inbound sales strategy and without it, a financial strain was being placed on the organization.

After all of our search engine marketing experts reviewed the website and options, we found that Joomla was the cause of their ranking drop. Because of its disorganized code, poor URL structure, and overall complexity, the client’s website was dropping like a rock.

Since the client was a solid, long-term client, we went the extra mile and quickly put our programming team to work to convert the Joomla website to a search engine marketing-friendly, content management system, Wordpress. This was done with no extra cost to the client.

Within one week of the website conversion, the client is now ranked mid-page two for their popular search term and should soon take its place back on page one.

If you are using a content management system (a program that allows you to edit your website online), the content management system could be keeping your website down.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/joomla-is-not-search-engine-optimization-friendly/feed/Search Engine Marketing is Made up of Patience and Persistencehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-is-made-up-of-patience-and-persistence/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-is-made-up-of-patience-and-persistence/#commentsMon, 16 Feb 2009 13:44:33 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=177Search engine marketing doesn’t take effect overnight and it’s a good thing it doesn’t. If your website ranking could leap to the first page overnight, then all of your competitors could also do the same and there would be no stability in search rankings.

The fact that search engine optimization is a progressive process means once your website is on the first page of the Google search result, your ranking should stabilize within the 1-3 range.

So, continue a persistent link building and search engine marketing effort and have a little patience. That is the best formula for search engine success.

A great website analysis tool is Google Analytics. Their tool will track visitors from all search engines, referring links, and even track conversion. You can also review a geographical map to see which parts of the country and world are visiting your website the most.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-analyze-your-website/feed/Search Engine Marketing - Not Tonight, I’m Blogginghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-not-tonight-i%e2%80%99m-blogging/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-not-tonight-i%e2%80%99m-blogging/#commentsMon, 02 Feb 2009 22:10:24 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=173When it comes to search engine marketing and search engine optimization, blogs may be the greatest invention since caffeine… oh yes, it’s that important. Blogs offer an easy interface that anyone, at any skill level, is able to add content to their website.

In addition, others who like the content can simply plug the RSS feed into a service like Feedburner and start syndicating the content. Blogs cover content and link building.

However, having a blog will not achieve anything if you don’t use it. If you are going to utilize blogging as part of your search engine marketing, you need to set aside some time every week to post new content on your blog; just a couple paragraphs will suffice.

The best way to ensure new content is consistently posted on your blog is to delegate that task to a professional writer. Search engine marketing companies don’t possess any secrets; they just have the workforce in place to make sure your search engine optimization tasks get done.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/02/search-engine-marketing-not-tonight-i%e2%80%99m-blogging/feed/Top Ranking Official in Your Field and Search Engineshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/top-ranking-official-in-your-field-and-search-engines/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/top-ranking-official-in-your-field-and-search-engines/#commentsThu, 29 Jan 2009 17:12:56 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=171Search engine optimization, search engine marketing, all of these work together to make sure that your website is found by your target market. But what happens if you are found, but not trusted?

It is the job of your search engine marketing specialist to not only get you to the top of the search engines, but also, position you and/or your business as an authority in your field.

More people are Googling businesses and professionals prior to working with them. Aside from making sure there isn’t any reputation management problems circling your name, a prospect doing a Google while considering your firm gives you an opportunity to further prove yourself.

With Adviatech’s complete search engine marketing solutions, your content which includes articles, press releases, and blog entries will syndicate throughout social networks, third party blogs, and newswires, which will not only build links to your website, but build credibility for your company.

Because being on top of the search results will not mean a whole lot if you are not positioned at the top of your industry.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/top-ranking-official-in-your-field-and-search-engines/feed/Search Engine Marketing Targets are Easier to Hithttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-targets-are-easier-to-hit/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-targets-are-easier-to-hit/#commentsMon, 26 Jan 2009 15:27:01 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=168Search engine optimization is all about relevancy and popularity. If you have a website that covers multiple services and products, your relevance will be more difficult to achieve since there isn’t a small set of keyphrases for which your website is relevant.

The best remedy to this problem is to target the most profitable parts of your company and make those items or services more prevalent in your website. This will not only simplify the search engine marketing, but also help increase conversion.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-targets-are-easier-to-hit/feed/Consistency Causes Consistent Search Engine Marketing Successhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/consistency-causes-consistent-search-engine-marketing-success/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/consistency-causes-consistent-search-engine-marketing-success/#commentsFri, 23 Jan 2009 16:02:46 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=166You know that room in your house that doesn’t have carpet? The muscle car in the garage that will never be a hotrod? Or the patch of dirt and weeds in your backyard that was supposed to be a garden?

By now, most people know what is involved in search engine optimization. Include keyphrases and build links. Anybody truly interested in learning the details can easily access useful information. But when it comes to link building, consistency is key.

The number of links to your website needs to always be growing, and that takes content. Content such as articles, press releases, blog postings, etc, is the best way to build one-way links to your website. However, these pieces of content need to be written, distributed, and linked to your site on a regular basis. A couple of pieces here then another couple of postings two months from now will yield little more than an abandoned home project.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/consistency-causes-consistent-search-engine-marketing-success/feed/Going Cheap on Search Engine Optimization Means Going Nowherehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/going-cheap-on-search-engine-optimization-means-going-nowhere/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/going-cheap-on-search-engine-optimization-means-going-nowhere/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2009 13:20:12 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=164To stay up on the competition, I often review other search engine marketing companies to see what Adviatech is going up against. While some search engine optimization companies have plans and services that contain all the elements that make up a higher Google ranking, still lurking around are the cheap services that offer no value and a lot of frustration.

Search engine marketing is primarily made up of two things, relevant content and relevant one-way links to your website. The best way to ethically build links to your website is through content. Writing content that is posted on blogs, newswires, article directories, and social networks is the most important element of a successful search engine marketing campaign.

For Adviatech, most of the monthly fee is made up of the research and writing time of our writing and editing team. Our writers are experienced professionals. That experience and attention to detail can not be purchased for $50/month.

2) Are they writing unique content for your account or do they write a few articles that get duplicated for all of their clients?

3) Are their writers located in North America where they can maintain quality control over the articles and press releases that will be representing your company online?

Another way to check up on a company is by simply Googling their name. If they have treated clients unfairly, chances are, someone has blogged about it. Try Googling certain phrases such as “Company Name Scam” or “Company Name Rip Off”.

If you are prepared to pay a fair price for search engine marketing, a price that covers the skilled labor and tasks necessary to achieve a page one ranking, your search engine optimization experience should be a pleasant one that leads to results.

Please give me a call if you have any questions or would like to review an updated proposal.

Jason Bland / Adviatech Corp.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/going-cheap-on-search-engine-optimization-means-going-nowhere/feed/Patience and Hard Work Makes Search Engine Marketing Workhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/patience-and-hard-work-makes-search-engine-marketing-work/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/patience-and-hard-work-makes-search-engine-marketing-work/#commentsSun, 11 Jan 2009 15:13:31 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=162Perhaps the most overlooked search engine optimization technique is a little patience. The process of search engine optimization and search engine marketing is a progressive one. While Google has gotten a little better about quickly indexing your website’s changes, it’s the links that take a while to add up.

Say that 40 websites start linking to your website. Google has to reindex all 40 of those websites before your website is credited for the links on those pages. This happens progressively over time. Which is why it is important to have multiple linking building strategies in place.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/patience-and-hard-work-makes-search-engine-marketing-work/feed/Let Go of the Champagne and Get Back to Blogginghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/let-go-of-the-champagne-and-get-back-to-blogging/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/let-go-of-the-champagne-and-get-back-to-blogging/#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2009 17:46:41 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=160It is always difficult to maintain your routine blogging throughout the holidays but now, its time to let go of the champagne and dessert and get back to blogging.

Blogging, be it on your web site, social networks, or third party providers (blogger.com, wordpress.com, etc) is a great way to position yourself as an authority in your field. It also gives you another way to link your keyphrases to your home page.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked benefits of blogging is not related to search engine marketing or search engine optimization at all. Blogging keeps you focused on your career. By spending an hour or two each week writing about what you know, you are keeping your mind focused on what makes you successful.

That is not a bad side effect of something that also increases your ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/let-go-of-the-champagne-and-get-back-to-blogging/feed/Search Engine Marketing with Adviatech in 2009http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-with-adviatech-in-2009/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-with-adviatech-in-2009/#commentsFri, 02 Jan 2009 00:34:19 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=158All of us at Adviatech hope you enjoyed a happy and safe New Years. So its 2009, what are you planning on doing about your web site? Your online marketing? Your search engine marketing? Search engine marketing is going to be very important in the coming year.

Online marketing (and search engine marketing) are going to have a stronger presence in 2009 as they offer the most return on your investment. To help you make the best decisions in allocating this year’s marketing budget, let us review some of the biggest mistakes made by business owners.

Penny Pinching

If your web site is not performing or you are looking for a new web site, thinking cheap will yield more hassle than results. Keep in mind, quality design and consistent search engine optimization takes people-power. Quality work does not happen when the skilled professionals are not fairly compensated. So when selecting a search engine marketing company or web designer, pick something that fits in your budget but prepare yourself to pay a fair price. Going cheap generally costs more over time.

Waiting for Change

If your current web site is not working for you, or you had something recently built that is not search engine marketing friendly, waiting for something to change before getting something that works is simply wasting time and money.

But I Know a Guy

While it is often tempting, you should not trust your company’s image, web site, and search engine optimization with someone you know who “dabbles” in it. Especially when it comes to your web presence, working with a solid company with a reputable workforce (like Adviatech) is an absolute must. If your friend or relative does something that gets your web site delisted, what happens next? Also, search engine optimization is not a one person process. Adviatech has a team of designers, writers, editors, content distributors, and social network marketing specialists that work together to not only increase your search engine ranking but your overall visibility and brand.

Not Working with Adviatech

Ok, we might be a little biased, but not working with Adviatech means you won’t get to experience real customer attention, quality design and writing services, or our fast response support. We believe that doing a good job is what makes us a good company but paying attention to details is what makes us a great marketing partner for your business.

Did you know…

- Nobody likes talking to voicemail. That’s why 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, a live friendly Adviatech representative will be there to answer the phone when you call. If they can’t answer your question, they will forward your message to somebody who can.

- Our writers go through strict critiquing and come to us with extensive writing resumes. Adviatech’s writing and editing team are experienced professionals in their field.

- Adviatech Corp., is a profitable company, founded in December of 2004 that has experienced gross revenue growth of 85%-100% each year since forming. In fact, in spit of economic conditions changing, 2008 was a most profitable calendar year to date. It is important to know that the company you are working with today will be there for you tomorrow.

So this year, see what Adviatech can do for your company in improving your search engine ranking, your company’s brand and web site design, and your overall exposure to your target market.

Our search engine marketing plans are evolving so quickly that if it has been more than 60 days since you got your proposal, you should request a new one to see the new services that have been added.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2009/01/search-engine-marketing-with-adviatech-in-2009/feed/We Repeat, Link Exchanges are Uselesshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/we-repeat-link-exchanges-are-useless/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/we-repeat-link-exchanges-are-useless/#commentsMon, 29 Dec 2008 16:35:51 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=154It seems like a just a few years ago that the big search engine optimization technique of choice was link exchanges. You setup a link exchange page, other relevant web sites setup a link exchange page and everybody exchanges links with one another.

Services like Linkmetro.com popped up to simplify the practice. Today, the result of all that hard link exchanging work is a bunch of useless links.

Bullet point number three on the above mentioned page says it all. On Google’s list of linking schemes to avoid is “Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging (‘Link to me and I’ll link to you.’)”

So there you have it, straight from the Google’s mouth. Link exchanges are out and services like Linkmetro are unethical and useless forms of search engine optimization.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/we-repeat-link-exchanges-are-useless/feed/Are Meta Tags back for Search Engine Optimization?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/are-meta-tags-back-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/are-meta-tags-back-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsSun, 21 Dec 2008 17:03:26 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=152While meta tags never really went away, their importance has dwindled over time with search engines indexing entire page content rather than relying on meta data.

Having a properly formatted meta tag will help your search engine optimization. The key is relevance without ridiculous repetition. For example, a meta description should describe your business in two sentences while utilizing your keyphrases. Short, relevant, and to the point.

The New Year is right around the corner and I must say, I could not be more excited. Adviatech’s re-branding efforts are underway and we have recently finished a business only social network called Adviatech Connect.

Our designers and search engine optimization team are among the best in the industry and ready to start your project. Plus, if you are on a standard calendar fiscal year, now is a great time to squeeze in that last deduction of the year.

Our $500 promotion will expire tomorrow (Friday) at 5PM EST. I’ll be available today and tomorrow to organize service agreements and answer any questions you might have.

Adviatech is moving forward into tomorrow’s online marketing landscape, join us in next year’s success!

I look forward to working with each and every one of you!

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/adviatech-rebranding-and-going-beyond-search-engine-optimization/feed/Looking Good on Top of the Search Engineshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/looking-good-on-top-of-the-search-engines/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/looking-good-on-top-of-the-search-engines/#commentsMon, 15 Dec 2008 20:57:52 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=145If you are using a template or stock design to represent your business, you may not only be doing your brand and image a disservice but also you could be hindering your search engine optimization efforts.

Does the Google Bot have eyes?

Well, not exactly but close. While the Google Bot may not look at poor color choices, ugly pictures, or bright red text on a bright yellow button, it does look at formats. A professional designer will make sure that your web site is formatted correctly and can also improve the Google Bots navigation of your site.

Often times, web sites can look more attractive with animated roll over effects on menus and icons. A trained search engine optimization friendly designer will be able to possibly implement those same effects while keeping your site easy to navigate by Google Bots and visitors alike.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/looking-good-on-top-of-the-search-engines/feed/Technology Advances to be Online in 2009http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/technology-advances-to-be-online-in-2009/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/technology-advances-to-be-online-in-2009/#commentsThu, 11 Dec 2008 14:38:03 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=143As tech firm’s research and development budgets get reduced due to consumer spending decreasing, we can probably expect fewer technological advances in the near future when dealing with hardware, phones, televisions, and gadgetry.

However, I believe that companies are going to create online technology this year which is cheaper to develop and offers greater profitability.

Even with Google’s stock losing half its value in the third quarter, they have continued to develop new technology. Apple may not develop anything as compelling as the iPhone and iPod touch, but their applications will definitely improve and they may spend more on their iTunes service and possibly enter the social networking arena.

I think it is obvious with the announced bankruptcy of Tribune Co., and the reorganizing of the New York Times, that print media is in trouble. They don’t have the readers and the advertisers can’t afford media that doesn’t offer better conversion. Society, both business and consumer, is becoming on demand. Videos on demand, information on demand, and that requires on demand advertising.

More companies are going to be shifting their marketing dollars to the internet this year which means we can expect new online marketing innovations. I for one am very excited about the direction search engine optimization and social networks are going.

I say it time and again, search engine optimization is a progressive process. If you want to access the power of that effective marketing medium, you must act now. The work done today will offer improvements a few months down the road to your search engine ranking. Plus, with our new social networking management and podcasting to be launched next year, you have the ability to get in at our pre-upgrade pricing.

Tell me what you want in a search engine optimization company. Let’s talk and discuss your project and help you decrease marketing expenses for 2009 as we work to increase your revenue.

Many businesses are still not utilizing the Internet to get more leads from their web site. This is often due to not fully understanding the process of search engine optimization, or the value associated with it.

Currently, you have–depending on your industry – 1,000 – 10,000 searches on Google that are relevant to your company each month, and possibly more. Based on click through rates and elimination formulas, you are realistically missing out on 300-3,000 visitors. How much is a client worth to you?

Designing for Conversion

If you’re web site is more than a few years old, your search engine optimization campaign will be more effective with a new look. New design styles, web site programming, and page formats provide a pleasant experience for your web site visitors; as well as search engines like Google and Yahoo. You should ask for a web design quote along with your search engine optimization quote.

Is Search Engine Optimization Expensive?

Compared to other forms of advertising such as Yellow Pages, Newspapers, and even Pay-per-Click advertising online, search engine optimization doesn’t come close. Search engine optimization is the most cost effective form of advertising available.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/the-cost-of-not-search-engine-optimizing/feed/Focus on a Keyphrase for Better Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/focus-on-a-keyphrase-for-better-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/focus-on-a-keyphrase-for-better-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 01 Dec 2008 16:48:16 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=139The one important element of any search engine optimization campaign is the keyphrase or keyphrases. Get ranked highly on the first page for a not-so-popular term, and your website will have no traffic. Choose a term too common, and your website will have high volumes of low quality traffic.

What to do? Focus. By focusing on a target market, you simplify the keyphrase selection process, thus increasing the quality of your traffic. Ask your search engine optimization company to start your project with a keyphrase analysis, showing the popular terms that are most relevant to your company or practice.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/focus-on-a-keyphrase-for-better-search-engine-optimization/feed/The Sooner You Work with a Search Engine Optimization Company, The Betterhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/the-sooner-you-work-with-a-search-engine-optimization-company-the-better/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/the-sooner-you-work-with-a-search-engine-optimization-company-the-better/#commentsMon, 01 Dec 2008 16:47:06 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=137It’s that time of year again. The closing of a year past, the beginning of a new one, and the time of year when many companies start thinking about next year’s marketing strategies.

Search engine optimization is a progressive process that starts with content optimization (sometimes a new website) and is followed by getting websites, blogs, and news outlets to link to your company’s website. Therefore, it takes a few months for all of these elements to take effect in Google’s search results.

Content Optimization

Optimizing content is the process in which we include your keyphrases in your website’s content. For example, instead of “We have been practicing law in Boston for 15 years,” we would optimize that phrase as “Boston personal injury lawyers, Smith and White, have been practicing law for 15 years.” That, of course, is based on a personal injury lawyer in Boston.

Link Building

Link building is simply the process of getting other websites to link to your company’s website. We write articles and press releases on behalf of our clients and then distribute them across newswires and directories; at that point they get syndicated through places like Google News and Google Blog Search. This results in a series of websites linking to your website.

To see a return in the early part of 2009, you will need to start your search engine optimization project this month. Redesigning your site may increase your ability to achieve higher rankings if your current website is more than a few years old.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/12/the-sooner-you-work-with-a-search-engine-optimization-company-the-better/feed/Is Personalized Search Really Ending Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/is-personalized-search-really-ending-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/is-personalized-search-really-ending-search-engine-optimization/#commentsMon, 24 Nov 2008 13:32:28 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=135For those of you with a Google Account, your search results have already changed. You can move rankings, comment on sites, and shift what you are looking for. Should search engine optimization specialists be heading for the unemployment line?

Recently, Google has been working on personalizing search results. If you don’t search within a Google Account, your rankings have been shifting based on your recent search activity. If you Google a keyphrase like “rattlesnake boots” then Google “rattlesnake skin boots”, you will see this at the top right of Google’s search results. “Customized based on recent search activity.”

So you might be thinking, “oh no, that is the end of SEO!” if everyone sees different results, how can one measure success? Fear not my good web marketer, for search engine optimization is not dead, it’s simply being upgraded.

The changes in Google’s personalized results have been monitored for a couple of years by my search engine optimization company. Being that we offer guaranteed search engine optimization, (guaranteeing page one rankings, not individual rankings) we were mildly concerned when Google started showing different results in different regions. And now, with this innovation, things are about to get different, not harder.

Basically, personalized search works around ranking monopolies. If you do a search for health insurance quotes, health insurance plans, and affordable health insurance, you are getting the same top two web sites for all three. So in your personalized search, just delete them. So the next time you search, you will be exposed to a few sites that you haven’t seen before and may have options that better suit you. Basically, personalized search increases visibility and fairness to web sites that don’t have ranking monopolies.

While personalized search may reduce traffic, it should increase conversion (in theory) because the visitors that are exposed to your web site have been because of their recent search history thus making them a more relevant visitor.

For regional search engine optimization, the changes will be minimal. National terms like “car” could go several directions. A searcher could be wanting to buy a car, looking for car repair tutorials, or simply wanting to read car blogs. General terms will be most effected by personalized search.

However, someone searching for a Houston immigration lawyer, or chiropractor, or insurance agent, will pretty much see the same results. Even with personalized search, your web site needs to have relevant content, clean code, properly formatted meta descriptions, descriptive text, descriptive image tags, and variety of relevant, quality web sites linking to it. All of these items need to be addressed so that your web site appears in the top ten of relevant search results.

The way I see it, personalized search is just another way search engines are becoming more relevant. I’m looking forward to implementing new services into our search engine optimization plans. This is what keeps this industry exciting.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/is-personalized-search-really-ending-search-engine-optimization/feed/The Bottom Link - Adding Text Links will Help Googlehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-bottom-link-adding-text-links-will-help-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-bottom-link-adding-text-links-will-help-google/#commentsMon, 17 Nov 2008 14:32:10 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=130Many web sites use flash, java, or images for their top or side menu links. The fancy rollover effects are esthetically enhancing to the web site’s design so its no mystery why they are popular. However, Google needs plain text links to best navigate your web site.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-bottom-link-adding-text-links-will-help-google/feed/Search Engine Optimizing for Google’s Standardshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/search-engine-optimizing-for-googles-standards/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/search-engine-optimizing-for-googles-standards/#commentsMon, 17 Nov 2008 14:30:54 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=128Each week, we talk about the various elements that will make your law firm’s web site rank higher in search engines. Google having the highest standards is of course, the search engine we based our practices and policies around. But to truly understand search engine optimization requires an inside look at what Google really wants.

Search Traffic
Google wants more people to use their search engine than any other search engine available. Currently, they get about 70% of search traffic. That means, they have 30% of online users to win over to their cause. All of their webmaster regulations are geared towards making their search engine have the most relevant and highest quality web sites indexed and ranked.

Quality
That brings us to quality. Google wants quality sites with quality content ranked in their search engine. If someone is searching in a search engine and the top ranking web sites are spammy, that lowers the quality of the search engine. Therefore, Google wants to see quality content and a professionally developed web site. Go ahead, do a search on Google and see how many top ranking web sites look like they were made by a “do it yourselfer”. Most high ranking web sites are professionally designed and developed.

One Way Links
Judging the quality of a web site by the number of quality web sites linking into it is referred to (in the SEO community) as the Google democracy. If you look at each quality web site on the internet as a qualified voter, that helps you understand their link philosophy. The most qualified web sites linking to your site, the more “votes” you have, thus a higher ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/search-engine-optimizing-for-googles-standards/feed/When the Web Gets Tough, It’s Time for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/when-the-web-gets-tough-its-time-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/when-the-web-gets-tough-its-time-search-engine-optimization/#commentsThu, 13 Nov 2008 13:17:54 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=124The internet offers a great variety of marketing opportunities that fit into a small businesses budget. However, some of those such as pay per click, may not be suitable during tough economic conditions.

By now, most people probably are getting tired of hearing “times are tough”. A line that was overplayed by every running public official in the last election is something everybody knows. Rather than looking at economic conditions as a giant beast that just simply can’t be concurred, lets find a way to walk around it.

A quick glance at various stocks from television network affiliates to Google will show a sharp decline in advertising dollars being spent on traditional and new media. Google, this time last year was trading at more than $700.00 a share, now it’s at $291.00.

The point is, you need marketing. The big mistake most companies make during tough times is decreasing marketing expenses. A sensible way to decrease marketing expenses, increase conversion, and continue to have a market presence during a down swinging economic time is to utilize search engine optimization.

In fact, during tough economic times, you are immediately thrown into a marketing conundrum. With less expendable income (be it consumer or business), you actually need to be exposed to a greater number of people/businesses to reach a qualified customer. This is where the Pay Per Click model becomes a problem.

Pay Per Click is of course when you pay a fee for each click on your ad. In theory, it sounds good because its performance based. No traffic, no money spent. However, based on the fact that you need more exposure at the time that you can afford it the least, Pay Per Click is a problem.

Let’s say that you pay $1.00 a click for a pay per click ad in a search engine. When the economy was stable, you would get a new client after every 50 clicks. So the cost of acquiring each client was $50.00. If you based your marketing budget around that, you are now faced with a problem. You need more clicks.

Now you need to be exposed to more people to get the same results so your client acquisition is going to cost $100.00 because you need twice as many clicks.

This is where search engine optimization becomes your better strategy. When working with a solid search engine optimization company, you will have a set monthly fee. If your natural Google ranking delivers those fifty needed clicks or one thousand clicks, your SEO firm only collects the set monthly fee. So you can base your marketing budget on a predictable fee that is locked in for your term… usually twelve months.

So don’t let the economy force you into having a zero marketing presence. There are customers are out, they just have to find you.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/when-the-web-gets-tough-its-time-search-engine-optimization/feed/The Power of Multiple Blogs - On Site and Offhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-power-of-multiple-blogs-on-site-and-off/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-power-of-multiple-blogs-on-site-and-off/#commentsMon, 10 Nov 2008 15:28:54 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=122If you have a web site, you absolutely need an on site blog. Your search engine optimization company should have set one up. This keeps your web site fresh, dynamic, and search engine friendly.

But does it help to also have blogs on Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, and other third party blog web sites? It turns out, yes it does.

By having a couple other blogs, you are increasing exposure and links to your main web site. You can keep them updated with similar content to keep them fresh.

So if you were thinking about getting a couple of free blogs to help your web site grow, by all means, move forward. This is a helpful SEO technique.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/11/the-power-of-multiple-blogs-on-site-and-off/feed/Search Engine Optimization - Time it Takes to Get to the Tophttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/search-engine-optimization-time-it-takes-to-get-to-the-top/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/search-engine-optimization-time-it-takes-to-get-to-the-top/#commentsMon, 20 Oct 2008 12:50:59 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=118When encouraging businesses, insurance agents, insurance companies, law firms, and sole practicing attorneys to move forward with a search engine optimization project, the one question that always comes up is “how long is it going to take?”

So here is something you won’t get from other SEO companies; a direct answer. Generally… 2-4 months in most markets.

This is always a fascinating statistic. Between the decision making, discussing, questioning, and contract reviewing, the process of proposal to contract takes about 2 months (in many cases).

That means, had you signed up the same day that you received your proposal, it is highly possible that you would already be on the first page of Google by the time most people are just beginning.

Just food for thought. I however, enjoy talking with prospective clients about the search engine optimization process because an informed client that understands what they are paying for is much easier to work with over the long term.

Of course, if you are getting a new web site, you have 3-6 weeks of design and development prior to the SEO process beginning.

The short of it, the sooner you start your project, the sooner you’ll see a return on your investment.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/search-engine-optimization-time-it-takes-to-get-to-the-top/feed/SEO and Information - The Two Powers Combinedhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/seo-and-information-the-two-powers-combined/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/seo-and-information-the-two-powers-combined/#commentsMon, 13 Oct 2008 13:35:02 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=116One of the best ways to convert visitors into customers is by offering free information. A downloadable guide relevant to your business is like a digital business card.

Speaking from first hand experience, visitors will become customers with a company that positions themselves as an authority in their field. By writing an Ebook or guide, you are doing just that. So write a 10-15 page guide and link it to your web site. You can also use this as an opportunity to build a newsletter subscriber base.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/seo-and-information-the-two-powers-combined/feed/Looking Your Best for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/looking-your-best-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/looking-your-best-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 07 Oct 2008 17:13:37 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=113Traffic is just one part of search engine optimization. In most cases, its not the traffic that makes SEO worth the money, it’s the new business. New business from web traffic is all about conversion.

If you walk into a store that is dirty and has disorganized shelves and an overall unpleasant environment, is it likely that you will become a loyal patron? Probably not. Your web site is no different.

Professionally designed web sites convert traffic much better than template or cookie cutter web sites. Not only does it convert your search engine traffic better, it also helps with search engine optimization. A professional web designer will know how to keep the code clean and navigation structure in the format that search engines prefer seeing.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/10/looking-your-best-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Heading to Page Onehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/heading-to-page-one/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/heading-to-page-one/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2008 16:14:27 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=110The guaranteed search engine optimization tip of the week is generally about link building but this week, we are moving to the top. The top of the page.

Your page title is the single most important line of your web site. This is where it is vital to list your keyphrases in left to right order of most to least importance. For example, using our demo law firm Smith & White, the fictiscious divorce lawyers in Chicago, we would make a title that looked something like this.

Notice the law firm name goes on the far right of the page title. This is because your law firm’s name is least important in terms of keyphrases needing to be optimized. This is simple way to improve your online law firm marketing.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/heading-to-page-one/feed/First Page Search Engine Ranking with Flashhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/first-page-search-engine-ranking-with-flash/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/first-page-search-engine-ranking-with-flash/#commentsTue, 16 Sep 2008 19:30:54 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=108The first response from a search engine optimization specialists when reading a title like that may be “whaaaaaat?”. It turns out, that Flash has a place in this world and you can use it properly without taking a ranking dive.

First, let us explore why flash is generally frowned upon in the search engine optimization community. Flash movies are usually animated and are best used for elements, presentations, and YouTube like videos. However, some designers take it to the extreme and develop whole web sites in Flash.

Flash is pretty. But Google does not have eyes that can see content in a flash movie. So if you use only flash on your web site, Google will not have text to read when indexing (then ranking) your web site.

The use of flash as an animated header, fading slideshow of images, testimonials, and statements of dedication, and other enhancing elements are impressive to your user and you can achieve a page one ranking with your web site even if you use some minor flash elements. Just make sure the bulk of the web site is good old fashioned, easy to read text.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/first-page-search-engine-ranking-with-flash/feed/Online Reputation Management - Go Ahead, Google Yourselfhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-go-ahead-google-yourself/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-go-ahead-google-yourself/#commentsTue, 09 Sep 2008 13:44:53 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-go-ahead-google-yourself/One of the first (and easiest) things you should do in
managing your online reputation is, well, finding out
if you have something to manage. If you are advertising yourself, chances are,
others are Googling you.

Unfortunately, you may be falling victim to accidental
reputation mishaps. Something as minute as a speeding ticket from a state
trooper could appear on the first page of Google as “State of Texas
vs. John Smith” from online court records.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-go-ahead-google-yourself/feed/Bragging Your Way to More Clientshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/bragging-your-way-to-more-clients/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/bragging-your-way-to-more-clients/#commentsMon, 08 Sep 2008 14:00:08 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=105We have been focusing on making your law firm’s web site convert visitors to cases recently [in Law Firm Marketing Weekly]. This of course, is the reason you got a web site to begin with. To date, we have talked about design, contact form placement, and using an on site blog. All of those topics, I’m sure we will discuss in more detail in future issues.

But here is something we have not talked about yet it seems to increase conversion for many of our clients. Are you ready?

Bragging. Yes, that’s right, bragging about your successful case record has been proven to increase conversion. This can be done subtly with an attractive scrolling element listing brief case details and the ruling.

You don’t have to give details, just something along the lines of “Securities Fraud Trial – Not Guilty”, “Possession With Intent to Sell – Dismissed”. No need to say anything more. Of course, be sure that they represent actual cases.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/bragging-your-way-to-more-clients/feed/Do SEO Firms Pay Attention to Google?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/do-seo-firms-pay-attention-to-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/do-seo-firms-pay-attention-to-google/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2008 17:47:32 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/do-seo-firms-pay-attention-to-google/Nope. It doesn’t look like it. While Google has openlytalked against active link exchange solicitation, some SEO firms are notlistening. There was a day in yesteryear that you would install a linkexchange partner page on your site as an SEO tool as necessary as a sitemap.You would solicit links to your web site and then, in return, link to somebodyelse.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/do-seo-firms-pay-attention-to-google/feed/Online Reputation Management Works Better With Good Peoplehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-works-better-with-good-people/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-works-better-with-good-people/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2008 17:47:32 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/online-reputation-management-works-better-with-good-people/When repairing your online reputation, it is often helpful to well, do good things. For example, if a minor infraction in your community has left you with questionable news articles online, you could counter this news by sponsoring local charities or events.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/thank-you-cuil-my-search-results-needed-random-irrelevant-pictures-2/feed/How Web Design and Search Engine Optimization Work as Onehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/how-web-design-and-search-engine-optimization-work-as-one/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/how-web-design-and-search-engine-optimization-work-as-one/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2008 17:47:32 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/how-web-design-and-search-engine-optimization-work-as-one/It often feels like there are two different types of online
companies, designers and marketers. But they should work as one since web
design is search engine optimization’s close cousins.

The Creatives verses SEO war has been going on for years.
One side says “make it pretty”, the other side says “make it wordy”. Funny
enough, both sides are right. When marketing your web site online, you could
possibly make something so ugly that you get a lot of traffic from a favorable
Google ranking, but no clients or conversion.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/how-web-design-and-search-engine-optimization-work-as-one/feed/Design Pulls Lawyer Rankings Uphttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/design-pulls-lawyer-rankings-up/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/09/design-pulls-lawyer-rankings-up/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2008 11:58:55 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=90In recent issues of Law Firm Marketing Weekly, we have been focusing on design. We feel that this is a part of search engine optimization that is often ignored. So how important is design?

Google, in their webmaster guidelines says “If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up.”

Search engines bots that crawl the web and index web sites do not have eyes. They simply read code and text. Generally, a web site that is not attractive, old, or is not made by a design professional, will have messy code, navigation problems, and in general, not provide a clean user experience. If users can easily navigate a web site, chances are, Google will also be able to easily navigate a web site. Thus, increasing the overall quality of your law firm’s web presence.

A professional designer can make sure that your web site will convert visitors into new cases while at the same time, keeping your code clean, and Google friendly.

It was a big deal, a group of Google expats raise thirty million dollars to stick a group of servers together and suddenly call themselves a search engine. In earlier news releases, Cuil even talked about how their results were less dependant on links than that of Google. So, we ran a little test to see if this was true.

Does anybody remember the “miserable failure” Google bomb? A group of anti-Bush bloggers and webmasters linked the keyphrase “miserable failure” to U.S. President George Bush’s official Whitehouse.gov web site. Regardless of the fact that the site doesn’t use the phrase “miserable failure”, the site ranked number one in Google. Google fixed the problem and resulting searches for “miserable failure” became content based.

When Cuil launched, I noticed a spike in traffic to the article resources on my company’s web site generated from Cuil. People immediately searched for “miserable failure”. Guess what is number four, Whitehouse.gov. Look one row below that and you will see my article titled “Google Repairs Miserable Failure”. Next to it, ‘The Onion’ logo.

I was just thinking several months ago while doing a Google search how nice it would be if my search results were accompanied by completely random non-relevant images and icons. Thank you Cuil for making this a reality.

The “engineers” at new search engines like the now forgotten Accoona like to come up with new looks and logos while completely ignoring what makes Google so popular. Unlike the Ask.com post Interactive Media buyout commercials saying “Don’t just use something out of habit [Google]”, people use Google because its clean and gives relevant results.

Users are not demanding results be displayed in some mid-90’s frame based design style. They want something fast, clean, and relevant. You want to do something useful with your undeserved $30 million of venture capital? How about you make something as fast, clean, and relevant as Google only with page rankings not changing ever 20 seconds.

I speak from experience. Several years ago I too developed a search engine which is now a huge online resource. We started a search engine then we quickly saw that only 2% of our users were actually doing web searches on it. So we spent a tiny amount of money integrating into Yahoo’s API for the search results then built a network of individual interest channels. Because new content on the web is far more valuable than a new way to find it. Especially if that new way displays irrelevant picture eye-candy in a framed search result screen.

Yahoo actually figured it out a long time ago. According to Alexa, Yahoo gets the most traffic of any other web site in the world. Yet, Google is delivering more than 70% of online search queries. See, Yahoo figured out that Google’s search was superior to theirs so they began investing heavily in their “channels of interest” sections.

When your product is inferior, know what you can be good at, excel in that, and don’t reinvent a wheel that is not broken. Oh, and free up some venture capital funding for real technological innovations.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/thank-you-cuil-my-search-results-needed-random-irrelevant-pictures/feed/The Link Between Design and SEOhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-link-between-design-and-seo/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-link-between-design-and-seo/#commentsWed, 27 Aug 2008 13:30:25 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=87It often feels like there are two different types of online companies, designers and marketers. But they should work as one since web design is search engine optimization’s close cousin.

The Creatives verses SEO war has been going on for years. One side says “make it pretty”, the other side says “make it wordy”. Funny enough, both sides are right. When marketing your web site online, you could possibly make something so ugly that you get a lot of traffic from a favorable Google ranking, but no clients or conversion.

Why is that? Because Cleanliness is next to Googleness. If you would like, take a few moments to search some highly competitive keyphrases in Google. The web sites that are ranked on the first page are normally, professional, well designed web sites. This is not a coincidence. Clean sites rank higher and convert better.

So why does the average search engine optimization company pay such little regard to professional design? Because search engine optimization specialists are analytics gurus and designers are artist. In short, it takes two to make it work.

When working with a designer, you should ask them what their strategy is for maximizing your search engine exposure. While designers do not have to speak fluent SEO, they do of course need to know what not to do to your web site so that an SEO can come in after them and help increase your search engine ranking.

When considering SEO friendly design, think clean. Web sites that have a direct point (call to action) at the top of the page will convert visitors to customers much better than the competition. If you searched for health insurance quotes on Google, you would see a list of natural results. Most of those allow you to start the health insurance quoting process right at the top of the home page.

If you work with a guaranteed search engine optimization company, (one that guarantees first page ranking) they may require you to update your design to decrease their risk. Yes, design makes that much of a difference. Search engine’s like what people like. Easy to navigate web sites, text that is clear and to the point, and simple vertical layouts.

So if high search engine rankings are at the top of your concerns, make sure your designer plays nice with search engine optimization specialists or even better, use a search engine optimization company with a talented on staff designer. This will greatly increase the success of your online presence.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-link-between-design-and-seo/feed/Your Firm Can Rank Higher in Search Engines with Creativityhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-firm-can-rank-higher-in-search-engines-with-creativity/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-firm-can-rank-higher-in-search-engines-with-creativity/#commentsTue, 19 Aug 2008 10:54:33 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=85When designing your law firm’s web site, you should think creatively. Having a web site that looks like every other law firm’s web site is simply going to tuck your firm away in a see of many other search results. It is important to pay attention to detail.

With it being rumored that Google ranks web sites higher that convert better (based on information sent to them through Google Analytics), it is safe to assume that a professionally designed web site that converts better will also prove to be a valuable tool in getting your web site ranked higher in Google search.

Not all cliché lawyer marketing elements are bad. Here is a brief list of dos and don’ts.

1)Your Picture – Many people like seeing professional pictures of their lawyer. Seeing a professional looking individual will help instill confidence into your web site’s visitors. You should have a professional photographer take a picture to use for professional purposes.

2)Avoid the Common – Yes, posing with open books, using scales of justice clip art, and posing in front of the gavel on your desk is probably going to make your firm look like “just another lawyer. However, creatively using the scales of justice in a logo or gavel can be done in a way that makes your firm stand out. It just takes some creative thinking.

3)Don’t Forget SEO - While your web site may look professional, you still need rich search engine optimized content on your site. The combination of optimized text, a professional design, and strong conversion ratios (visitors that fill out a contact form) will give your site the elements needed to push your firm to the top of search engine results.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-firm-can-rank-higher-in-search-engines-with-creativity/feed/Why Some Law Firms are not on Page One of Googlehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-not-on-page-one-of-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-not-on-page-one-of-google/#commentsWed, 13 Aug 2008 17:32:27 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-not-on-page-one-of-google/“I had my site designed, they said they put keywords in it, but my law firm’s web site doesn’t show up on the first page of Google… why?” Unless your web site is designed by a designer at a search engine optimization company, they are not fully aware of what goes into an “optimized” web site. While its true, many companies that offer web design services specific for lawyers, do put keyphrases in your web site.

However, they are often times, not the right keywords. We recently completed a project for a divorce lawyer. The company that built the lawyer’s web site in fact used “divorce lawyer” and “divorce attorney” in his tags, titles, and so forth, but they didn’t include it with his closest metro area. The difference between being relevant to “divorce lawyer” and being relevant to (for example only) “Atlanta divorce lawyer” mans the difference in reaching your market or not.

Its important to not just have keywords on your web site but rather the right keywords on your web site. The beginning of any project, for us, starts with an analysis. We see how many people are searching for which keyphrases related to the law firm we are working for. Then, we pinpoint the top three most popular keyphrases and that’s where our resources go. Of course we can optimize for more terms than three, but our focus needs to be on popular keyphrases that will bring in more cases.

When having your web site designed its best to keep marketing in mind. Having a search engine optimization company with a talented designer will help with your ranking as well as your conversion of visitors to potential cases.

The newest problem for businesses and individuals online has become their own behavior. Google has replaced traditional background checks and employer references for many human resource departments and consumers now ‘Google’ companies before working with them.

The problem exists when individuals and companies are judged for old news. Be it an embarrassing weekend for a partner in a law firm or a faulty product release which has now been repaired, these old news stories can prevent employment, new income, and overall destroy a reputation.

In 2007, guaranteed search engine optimization company, Adviatech Corp., began offering the online “name cleansing” service to a list of past criminals, acquitted suspects, and professionals who got public misdemeanors. They also began the planning of what is now, EBadPress, a subsidiary of Adviatech Corp.

While other online reputation management companies may use locks, safes, and other cliché symbolisms, Adviatech took a ‘wiser’ approach by using three wise monkeys. The EBadPress logo is made up of Kikazaru, the monkey that hears no evil, Iwazaru, the monkey that speaks no evil, and a mischievous Mizaru, the monkey which is supposed to be seeing no evil but instead, peaking with one eye at a laptop.

Monkeys Cleaning Name

The pictorial maxim is a symbol of Japanese wisdom often repeated as “Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil”, a proverb reminding people to not be nosy, gossipy, or snoopy.

EBadPress releases new media to talk about current events for their clients which eventually become the first results in search engines. The search engines are more interested in fresh new content so the method of name cleansing is an ethical form of online reputation management.

EBadPress falls directly under the jurisdiction of Adviatech Corp., President and Co-Founder, C.P. Kazor. Kazor believes that other companies offering similar services are missing an important element in reputation management… secrecy.

Kazor explains, “When we begin a reputation management project, we keep that case secret. These other companies that talk about contacting web sites with legal notices and asking them to remove content are putting their clients at risk. If someone has an article on a web site that is deemed ‘negative press’ and a reputation management company writes the site owner a letter asking them to remove the story, the site owner is more than likely going to blog about the first amendment injustice thus creating more negative press on the web for the client. That is why, we work in the shadows.”

The EBadPress project was developed by both Adviatech Co-founders, President C.P. Kazor and Vice President, Jason Bland. Bland, will be overseeing many of the technical aspects of online reputation management. He too, strongly believes in privacy and secrecy when dealing with reputations and compares reputation management companies that don’t to someone hitting a beehive with a stick.

Bland explains, “If you have a beehive hanging on your door step and you take a stick, then knock it down, you are going to have a lot of angry bees swarming around. But if you apply a layer of smoke around the beehive, the problem can be peacefully remedied. If you contact a blog owner or site owner, you are asking for a lot of angry bees swarming the web to spread your bad news.”

The EBadPress confidentiality statement on EBadPress.com is the tightest in the industry. No other online reputation management expresses the same dedication to privacy and secrecy. While the names of clients are confidential, clients will, of course, be told how their reputations will be repaired and guaranteed only ethical search engine practices.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/adviatech-launches-online-reputation-management-subsidiary/feed/Adviatech Goes International for Growth Strategyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/adviatech-goes-international-for-growth-strategy/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/adviatech-goes-international-for-growth-strategy/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 17:16:55 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/adviatech-goes-international-for-growth-strategy/Tucked away in a business park in Tampa Florida resides a search engine optimization company gaining increased market share this year. While they do have signage in the office park registry, you won’t see any billboards, park benches, or newspaper ads in Tampa Florida for this SEO firm.

As you approach the front door which displays the appropriate suite number, you might think twice about whether or not you have the right address. The windows are darkly tinted and you can’t see in. After standing there for a moment, the door will unluck and someone will be there to greet you asking you to step in.

The walls are painted with calming Tuscany style coloring accented by dark wood framed art and a large antique style desk in the front office. Upon being asked to step into another office behind the second tinted glass window, you will be in another richly accented office sitting on a comfortable imported leather couch. Behind that desk sits Adviatech’s young Vice President, Jason Bland.

Bland, who worked side by side with Chris Kazor (President of American Marketing Management and Motivation Services, Inc.) to form Adviatech Corp., just four fiscal years ago, prefers Adviatech getting little attention, glamour, and notoriety in Tampa Florida in exchange for spending more time at his desk bringing in national clients.

Bland explains, “I don’t disregard the value of our local business community, in fact, we spend a lot of money each year hosting seminars in downtown Tampa and sponsoring events that attract our relevant market. However, we don’t have an active marketing strategy for our local market, you won’t see Adviatech representatives at business events and trade shows in the area because our market is national.”

Adviatech’s business style would clash with many of today’s “tech” oriented companies. Business attire in the office is generally Florida casual (on days when no meetings are happening in the office). However, when it comes to out of office meetings, professional business attire (not business casual) is mandated.

“What we are doing is very serious. Our core product is guaranteed search engine optimization, getting web sites to rank higher on Google for relevant terms using ethical, content based solutions for on site relevancy as well as link building.” Bland continues, “We give a money back guarantee to our approved clients that we’ll get them to page one. That means, we’re in this with our clients. We’re sharing the risk. Therefore, our local and national clients need to know they are working with a solid professional company.”

Adviatech’s guaranteed search engine optimization plans are primarily made for small to mid sized companies, law firms, and insurance agency’s. With Adviatech’s realistic, no hype, sales strategy, they guarantee the page one ranking based on their experience, keyphrase competitiveness, and openly admitting that it is a budgeted, calculated risk. They openly discredit SEO firms that say they have a “special relationship with Google” or know of “secret methods”.

Bland smiled as he explained, “My favorite question to answer is ‘what sort of secret tags are you going to be putting in our web site?’. I always reply with, you are paying us for our knowledge, expertise, the guaranteed consistency of our writers, editors, content submission team, and the support I’ll be providing personally most of the time. If you have any questions about what we’re doing, simply look at your contract as we clearly outline each aspect of search engine optimization.”

Adviatech’s viewpoint of the world being their local market has motivated them to start planning a United Kingdom presence to launch this year. They believe countries using the Euro or Pound are wise to outsource to a United States based search engine optimization company because of the cost savings due to the depreciating U.S. dollar.

A mixture of traditional professionalism, a new age global market mindset, and a realistic sales strategy has allowed Adviatech to complete four fiscal years, three of which (including the most recent) profitable.

Adviatech Vice President, Jason Bland, carries most of the responsibilities of Adviatech as business partner, Chris Kazor, builds Nusurance Corp., a two year old insurance agency with a business model built around today’s internet based insurance clientele.

To keep the businesses on track and develop new strategies for growth, Jason Bland will emerge from the Adviatech office, and Chris Kazor from his Nusurance office, a few times a week to meet in the office park’s court yard to enjoy Florida’s weather and a Tampa tradition, a hand rolled cigar from Ybor City.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/adviatech-goes-international-for-growth-strategy/feed/How Long Does Guaranteed Search Engine Optimization Take?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/how-long-does-guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-take/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/how-long-does-guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-take/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:16:05 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/how-long-does-guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-take/If your firm is considering a guaranteed search engine optimization based marketing strategy, the question may come up, how long will it take to see results? This is a good question and certainly one worthy of discussion.

Search engine optimization means increasing the keyphrase density and relevance of your web site’s textual content and building inbound links (web sites linking to your web site). The first part, making your web site more relevant, should only take a couple of weeks. The link building, however, takes a little more time.

Once you have other web sites linking to your web site via blogs, articles, and press releases, Google has to reindex those third party web sites in order to see that they are now linking to you. The Google bot runs on its own schedule and is less than concerned with your goals so updated all of the web sites that are linking to you, could take some time.

With so many variables, it is hard to give a specific date that your web site will experience first page glory but we can estimate based on our past experience. Generally for metro regional terms (such as law firms ie: San Francisco Divorce Lawyer) it takes about 3-5 months to go from the never lands on to the first page. Statewide and nationwide terms take a little longer.

That’s not to say that is always the case. Some web sites have responded to our SEO changes and been ranked on the first page in just 3-6 weeks.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/how-long-does-guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-take/feed/City, State, or Nationwide SEOhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/city-state-or-nationwide-seo/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/city-state-or-nationwide-seo/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:15:05 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=72At first, you may think targeting bigger zones may bring in more business. However, aiming for a target bigger than your company, may simply add headaches.

If you are a bankruptcy lawyer in Raleigh North Carolina, you do not want to optimize for the term “North Carolina Bankruptcy Lawyer” unless you have satellite offices all across the state. Is somebody really going to drive four hours from Asheville to see you? Probably not.

So its best to stay in your city or neighboring cities if you have satellite offices. Now, in other industries like insurance, statewide optimization makes more sense because policies can be bound over the phone and do not require face-to-face meetings. However, with insurance, going nationwide may bring in business from states the agency is licensed to do business in.

If you start marketing outside of your realistic service zone, you will spend more time filtering useless phone calls and contact requests than working with good clients. It is best to find your local market and optimize for that. Target prospects are far more valuable than mass prospects.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/city-state-or-nationwide-seo/feed/On Site Blogs Verses Blogger for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/on-site-blogs-verses-blogger-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/on-site-blogs-verses-blogger-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:11:36 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/on-site-blogs-verses-blogger-for-search-engine-optimization/Blogs are great ways to increase web traffic, business loyalty and can be a helpful tool in your search engine optimization effort. However, if you are using a third party blog service, you may not be getting the full benefit.

Blogs are everywhere. From the political to the informational, if you can think of a genre, chances are, you can find a blog focusing on it. So what is a blog? A portmanteau of the term “web log”, blogs basically allow users to interact with one another in an open platform. More simply stated, a blog is an easier to use and more search engine friendly version of the early 90’s perl based message boards.

Before you go running off and opening a blog on Blogger or another popular service, you should know that not all blogs are the same. There are two different benefits to your business that blogging can provide. The first is interacting on other blogs related to what you do. As entries and comments are posted, you can provide feedback based on your professional knowledge. This helps you network on a global level as other users will turn to you as an expert in your field.

The other method of blogging is managing your own blog. This is where you need to pay close attention. One of the most beneficial features of a blog is its simple ability to be syndicated to other web sites using RSS or XML feeds. If you are using a third party blog provider (a blog that is not hosted under your domain), the RSS or XML feeds will not be pulled from your site but rather the blog host’s web sites. In short, you will be missing out on relevant links to your web site.

Managing your own on site blog is a great way to get traffic to your site and increase your relevant link population. The key to making it work is consistency. Your blog should be updated every two to three days with useful information. Information should be useful rather than commercial. While you can occasionally post notices of sales or company information, your on site blog entries need to consist of relevant, useful information at least ninety percent of the time.

Unlike articles, blog entries can be just one or two paragraphs. As your blog’s population increases, you will be able to post new entries based on comments made by your users. Also, user comments are helpful in adding even more relevant content to your web site.

For more information on blogging and how it can help your search engine optimization campaign, contact a search engine optimization specialist.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/on-site-blogs-verses-blogger-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/I Am Not an Internet Companyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/i-am-not-an-internet-company/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/i-am-not-an-internet-company/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:11:06 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/i-am-not-an-internet-company/If you do business online, does that really make you an internet company?

The market is changing and the internet is finding its way into every aspect of our life. In fact, many trade publications agree that by the year 2012, internet accessibility will be about as common and depended on as cellular phone connections. Little by little the internet is finding its way into coffee shops, your car, your T.V., and even in nature. Yes, many state parks across the country have free Wi-Fi (wireless internet) available in the camping and recreational areas.

Your business more than likely has a web site. If not, you need one. Unfortunately, many older businesses are hesitant to place their products and services online because they don’t want to become an “internet” company. It may sound somewhat ridiculous but many business owners really feel that doing business online will immediately brand them as an internet company or “one of those “dot-coms”.

Of course, being an internet company is nothing to be ashamed of. The king of the internet companies is of course Google Inc. Google Inc.’s market value is $140 Billion which is $15 Billion more than all of the companies traded in Indonesia. Yes, Google is worth more than Indonesia.

All of that aside, doing business online doesn’t immediately brand you as an internet company. If you advertise in a phone book, are you a phone book company? No. The internet is all about simplifying the way of which information is delivered. It also offers a unique perspective on marketing.

Radio, TV, and Newspaper media advertising is primarily about getting people to want or believe they need your product or service. However, the internet opens your company up to people that are already wanting, needing, or are sold on your product or service. Of course, being found is a matter of utilizing quality search engine optimization.

Search engine optimization companies often see e-commerce (shopping cart) web sites as an obstacle to their search engine optimization platform. Shopping carts are generally template based and most content is pulled from the database.

Its not the typical static HTML web site that is seen in the SEO training text book, but is it really possible to optimize a shopping cart? Well, maybe.

Not all shopping carts are created equal. Most shopping carts written in ASP, PHP, or related languages, can be optimized within the limitations set forth by the program. All of them allow for content pages to be added to the site and some even allow for shopping cart exporting to an HTML format.

There you have it, you have content, link population ability, and opportunity for adding fresh content. But, we are just beginning.

Some problem languages for shopping carts include .cfm (Cold Fusion) and .mvc (Miva Merchant). Both file types are not easily indexed by the search engines so this should be considered before starting your shopping cart project. With that said, some search engine optimization companies may be able to work out a plan to work around your existing shopping cart.

Aside from search engine optimization, another great means of marketing exist for shopping cart owners. Online product placement. Getting your site listed on places like Shopping.com, Bizrate, KCove.com, and Froogle is simple and affordable. Froogle is a free service but your product feed must be updated every month. Other price comparison sites have initial deposits of $50-$200. These sites work on a pay per click platform which have set price per clicks for various categories.

Using price comparison web sites should not be done instead of search engine optimization but rather complimentary to your search engine optimization efforts. For more information, talk to your search engine optimization company.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/ecommerce-search-engine-optimization/feed/Designing with Search Engine Optimization in Mindhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/designing-with-search-engine-optimization-in-mind/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/designing-with-search-engine-optimization-in-mind/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:09:07 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/designing-with-search-engine-optimization-in-mind/Sometimes, a fresh look for your web site could mean new obstacles for your search engine optimization company. Here are some things to do and avoid.

As times change, designs need to change to keep your brand fresh and your company image modern. However, your web sites new look can cause trouble for your search engine optimization company.

Search engine optimization is primarily dependant on the textual content with your web site. Therefore, adding too many graphics or an excessive amount of Flash can often use up valuable space on your web site which could be better used on optimizable text.

Graphics

Using graphics to enhance your web site’s image is a much better method than using Flash animations. Graphics and images allow your search engine optimization company to add alternate text or image tags which contain descriptive keywords and keyphrases which can be read by the search engine’s robots.

When using graphics, try to avoid using images as buttons or links. When a textual link contains a keyword or keyphrase it helps increase the relevancy of the destination page. For example, a page in a web site about golf shoes will show more relevancy if the textual link to the page says “Golf Shoes”. When using buttons or images to link to the (in this example) “Golf Shoes” page, you lose that added relevancy.

Avoid using scanned brochures or flyers as full web pages. When you scan a brochure or flyer (unless in a compatible Adobe PDF file), the information and textual content within the flyer is nearly useless because the search engine will simply see one large image as it can’t scan the content within the image. However, PDF files are easily indexed by the search engine so they do add a valuable benefit to your web site.

Flash

Generally speaking, Flash is not a close friend of the search engine optimization specialist. Flash is often seen as wasted content because the search engines cannot read text within a Flash file and your SEO specialilst cannot place alternate text on a Flash file like they can a picture. Also, search engines cannot follow links from a Flash button. The Flash button dilemma is usually countered by a textual sitemap but two descriptive keyword enhanced links to a page is obviously better than one.

Flash does not have to be completely avoided in your design. Using an animated Flash header can add an attractive element to your web site and using Flash for animated demonstrations of a product or service can also be an effective sales practice. However, Flash should not be used in menu structures (because of the link following issues mentioned above) or used in substitution for static HTML pages for textual content.

Hosting

Hosting is an often ignored yet important piece of your search engine optimization. Using a content management system or online web editing service (ie: GoDaddy, Homestead, etc.) can possibly not give you the server access needed to use such third party scripts as link management programs, on site blogs, lead generation forms, and other valuable tools.

The most popular server environment is Linux. Your search engine optimization results will not discriminate whether you are using a Linux server or Windows server. The main benefit to a Linux server is its compatibility with PHP and mySQL databases. Most open source (freely distributed and freely modified) software is written in PHP and uses a mySQL database. So by having a compatible server environment like Linux, you may be able to utilize this software whereas you would otherwise have to purchase a license for similar Windows compatible software.

By following these few suggestions, your search engine optimization company will be able to easily and affectively optimize your web site for better search engine performance.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/designing-with-search-engine-optimization-in-mind/feed/Search Engine Optimization Company Selectionhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimization-company-selection/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimization-company-selection/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:08:24 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimization-company-selection/Choosing a search engine optimization company can be tiring. Here are a few tips to help insure that you are getting the best SEO specialist for the money.

Your web site is up, functional, and looks good. You stare at it with much satisfaction until you look at the stats. Suddenly it occurs to you…you need visitors. Not just any visitors will do, you really need targeted interested visitors. What better way is there than to hire a search engine optimization company?

Search engine optimization is not performed by search engine optimization specialists that hold the secrets protected by a mysterious society. Search engine optimization is all about relevance and quality. How relevant is your web site? Does it provide new, useful, quality content? Does anybody link to it? Why do people need to link to your site?

Relevancy is often determined by wordage. The first objective of your selected SEO company should be to optimize the content of your page. Simply speaking, they need to improve the density of the keywords and key phrases while assuring that the wordage is formatted properly and that the site does not appear to be “keyword spamming”.

Paragraphs will be altered (yet not removed), title tags improved, image tags added or modified, and user/robot navigation enhanced. From that time forward, links will be the name of the game.

Google puts heavy emphasis on links. It is their belief that a web site with more web sites linking to it will provide higher quality content. Usually, they are correct in this assumption. Therefore, your SEO should provide multiple ways to improve your link population. The best package will include a combination of link exchanges, article distribution, and press release distribution. Make sure they are sending your content to multiple locations and not only the locations they own.

Be ware of snake oil. If your search engine optimization company is proposing “propriety processes” they are full of (clear throat) creative substances. In short, there is no such thing. Search engine optimization is all about Relevant Content, Fresh Content, and Relevant Link Population. Anything beyond that is simply snake oil.

Now, certainly your search engine optimization company could use “proprietary software” (which our SEO firm does as well) but this is simply an application that the company custom built to simplify one of the techniques. To review, those techniques are improving the content relevancy, fresh content, and/or link population.

Deciding on a budget is also important. Unless your company is an upper small business (generates over $5 Million annually) or middle market/large company, you should expect to pay somewhere between $250.00-$3,500.00 a month depending on the competitiveness of your keywords, your site’s size, and other variables.

Up front cost can range from $1,500.00-$10,000.00. To decide whether or not its worth it for you, simply ask yourself if you can afford it and if the proposed service makes sense. If you don’t understand the SEO process, don’t pay until the search engine optimization company has clearly explained it.

Don’t buy into the short term guarantees. If someone promises you “next day number 1” or advocates falsehoods such as “we have a special relationship with the search engines” you can simply feed their proposal to your hungry shredder and shred away a lot of frustration. Avoid guarantees that are not backed by a refund. (Adviatech’s guaranteed search engine optimization is backed by a refund.)

Follow your gut, have realistic viewpoints, and check references. Always require disclosure of techniques and disregard all SEO companies that try to sell mysteries and snake oil. If you do this, you will enjoy a strong relationship with a good company that truly has the interest of your success at heart.

Search engine optimization is all about relevant content, fresh content, and relevant web sites linking to you. So, what is content? When it comes to search engine optimization, content means “text that search engines can read”. A picture is content but a search engine can not see “rabbit” when looking at a picture of a rabbit. Therefore, you include an image tag on the photo that tells the search engine what is in the picture.

Unfortunately, Flash files do not utilize image tags and even if they did, that wouldn’t be enough. Flash files are seen by the search engines as movies. However, search engines do not have eyes and ears, only the ability to see and identify words, links, and textual content. If a Flash web site is completely written in Flash and the Flash file has 100 pages in it, the search engine only sees one Flash file and not the text in those 100 pages (or frames).

Now you have just completed a Flash web site that has a lot of energy, color, and is exciting to watch by your web visitors. You submit a couple proposal requests from search engine optimization specialist and they all write back with “we need to rebuild your web site in HTML”. Before you start crying and thinking about all the time and money spent on your Flash web site, take comfort in knowing there is a solution.

The solution is simple. You create a web site that is entirely written in HTML and hosted in a directory of your domain name. On your home page, you place a link to the HTML web site which will not only give the search engines something to read but will also make your users on slow internet connections much more interested in seeing your web site. Just as visitors on your Flash web site can click to the HTML section, your HTML users will be able to see your high flying Flash site if they so choose.

“Wait a minute…if I create a mirror web site on my domain name, will Google delist my web site for duplicating content?” The answer is a clear “No.” Google’s policy on keypages and duplicated content is targeted at web sites to use the same content found on another HTML web site but has different keywords and keyphrases throughout the wordage. An HTML version of a Flash web site is just that, an HTML version. You are adding useful content to the search engines while adding a benefit to your web site.

If possible, the best way to avoid such a problem is to not build a web site entirely in Flash. Flash elements like video and audio will enhance your web site but be sure that content is the main character of your web site.

Blogs are unique in that they can be used as promotional machines and informational sources. You should submit a blog entry at least once every three days to keep the information fresh so that your users will keep coming back and so that the search engines will frequently update your content.

Blog entries only need to be one to two paragraphs in length. Posting press releases and articles on your blog will also increase the amount of content on it. However, make sure your blog maintains a balance of 70% information to 30% company and sales content. This increases the user value of your blog.

Adviatech will submit your blog’s RSS feeds to a list of 15-20 (depending on relevancy) blog search engines like Google Blog Search. However, if you come across an opportunity to submit your RSS feed to a site, don’t hesitate to do so. Simply look towards the mid-bottom right hand side for the orange RSS 2.0 button. Click on that then copy and paste the URL into the RSS input field of the web site you’re posting to. Your address is usually http://www.YOURWEBSITE.com/blog/rss.php.

When coming up with content for your blog, turn to your daily customer interaction. As customers ask you questions, make a note of it then answer the questions publicly in the blog. For example, an insurance agency’s web site may get a question from a client regarding cost savings for using the same insurance company for their home and auto insurance. The insurance agencies blog entry would look something like the following.

Entry Body: If you are looking for cost savings on your auto insurance, you may need to look no further than your home. Many insurance companies offer savings to clients whom allow them to insure their vehicles and homes.

However, you shouldn’t instantly assume that is true with your insurance company. Always shop around and compare quotes from multiple insurance companies prior to deciding to combine your coverage under one company.”

Always be sure to use your keywords and keyphrases frequently in your blog entries as it will increase the SEO relevancy of your blog.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-blog-entries/feed/Shopping Cart Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/shopping-cart-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/shopping-cart-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:05:18 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/shopping-cart-search-engine-optimization/A great way to get your products out there on the web is by using such services as Google Products (formerly Froogle), Shopping.com, Shopzilla/Bizrate, and Yahoo Shopping.

All but Google Products (Froogle) are pay per click based but you’re only charged when someone clicks on your product from their web site to your shopping cart. Click charges are usually less than a dollar plus people that are shopping on price compare web sites are highly qualified leads.

If you are an Adviatech Search Engine Optimization client, call us at 1.800.728-5306 to see if your shopping cart is compatible to generate a product feed. Otherwise, contact your webmaster.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/shopping-cart-search-engine-optimization/feed/Submit Your Blog to Share Your Contenthttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/submit-your-blog-to-share-your-content/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/submit-your-blog-to-share-your-content/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:04:36 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/submit-your-blog-to-share-your-content/Having a blog on your web site is a great way to get traffic by attracting your users with fresh, relevant content. However, your blog’s ability to get people to your web site doesn’t stop with it just being indexed by Google, Yahoo, SpivO, Accoona, Ask, and Live.com.

On the web, search engines have been popping up specifically focused on getting blog feeds. Your blog has the ability to generate an RSS feed (Real Simple Syndication) which can be submitted to these blog search engines. Therefore, your content (and a link to your blog) can be shared with these search engines which also offers the ability to syndicate to other relevant web sites.

In short, it allows you to share your content and get links to your web site.

To begin, locate your RSS url. If you are an Adviatech search engine optimization client, your RSS feed URL will look just like ours only with your domain name and not Adviatech’s. Example: http://www.adviatech.com/blog/rss.php.

Now, submit your blog to various blog search engines. We have collected a few below to help you get started.

Adviatech Corp., a search engine optimization and online marketing company based in Tampa Florida, launched their guaranteed search engine optimization plan last week which offers a refund in the event that the client’s web site is not ranked on the first page of Google. Now, as an extension to their Guaranteed SEO plan, Adviatech has released an online marketing package custom made for lawyers and law firms.

In a statement released today by Adviatech Corp., the company explained why they have selected attorneys for their first market specific search engine optimization plan.

“Search engine optimization for lawyers and law firms takes somewhat of a different approach then most SEO project plans. Attorneys are usually in regional markets so we have to focus our energy on not just making their content relevant to their area of practice but also keep the wordage focused on the regional keywords and keyphrases.”

While the content search engine optimization practices are a little different then that of projects related to national keywords or keyphrases, link building efforts are also a little different. Adviatech has established relations with a network of directories, forums, blogs, and newswires relevant to lawyers and the legal industry to establish link partnerships with on behalf of their lawyer search engine optimization clients.

Adviatech Corp., Vice President, Jason Bland, commented, “We have built a plan that is so powerful and affective, that we are able to back it up with our money back guaranty. We also have priced the lawyer search engine optimization package to be affordable for all law firms and individual practicing attorneys. We understand that many law firms are also small businesses so its important that our plan is affective and affordable.”

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/seo-firm-launches-guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-package-for-lawyers-and-law-firms/feed/Pay Per Click vs. Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pay-per-click-vs-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pay-per-click-vs-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:02:26 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pay-per-click-vs-search-engine-optimization/If you’re just beginning to look into search engine optimization, online marketing, pay per click advertising, interactive media, and other forms of internet based marketing, you might have come across the terms “Pay Per Click” or “Cost Per Click”.

On Google, Yahoo, and most search engines, you will see two sets of search results when doing an online search. At the very top and usually right hand side, you will see sponsored links. In the middle are the natural listings. The middle listings are there because the search engine finds those sites to be the most relevant based on their content and link population.

The sponsored listings are almost always pay per click. The sponsors have placed a maximum bid to be ranked on the first page under the sponsored listings. Every time a person clicks on their ad, they are charged. Thus the term “pay per click”.

Since search engine optimization is a process, we generally recommend companies use Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing in the beginning while we are optimizing their web site. Once their natural ranking on a search engine is level with their sponsored listing, we recommend they discontinue bidding on that particular term.

However, keeping the ad in the syndication networks also has its advantages. We’ll cover that at a later time.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call Adviatech at 1.800.728.5306 or visit Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pay-per-click-vs-search-engine-optimization/feed/Search Engine Marketinghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-marketing/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-marketing/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:01:42 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-marketing/You might be confused by the different uses of the terms “search engine marketing” and “search engine optimization.” Search engine marketing is an all inclusive term regarding all things related to marketing your web site/business using search engines. For example, if you are registering your web site and business with Google Local and spending money on pay per click advertising with Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing, you are paying for “search engine marketing” or SEM.

Search engine optimization is the process in which your web site is made to appear (and actually be) more relevant to the search engines. This is done by increasing the keyword/keyphrase density of your content, adding fresh content frequently, and increasing the number of web sites (relevant) linking to yours. Search engine optimization is one part of search engine marketing but involves just the tasks needed to get your web site naturally ranked high in the search engines.

To learn more about search engine optimization, visit Adviatech.com or call 1.800.728.5306.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-marketing/feed/Writing Search Engine Optimization Friendly Press Releaseshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-search-engine-optimization-friendly-press-releases/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-search-engine-optimization-friendly-press-releases/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:00:53 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-search-engine-optimization-friendly-press-releases/A press release written for online submission needs to be a little different than what you would submit to print media sources. Your keywords and keyphrases need to be plainly stated in the title of your press release as well as the body.

For example, when Adviatech creates a press release, we do not create a title such as “Adviatech Launches New Service”. Instead, we optimize the title by saying “Search Engine Optimization Company, Adviatech, Launches New Service”.

By doing so, our press release will appear in Google News when someone does a search for “Search Engine Optimization” or “Search Engine Optimization Company”. Your keywords and keyphrases also need to be reiterated throughout the body of your press release to increase relevancy.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-search-engine-optimization-friendly-press-releases/feed/Search Engine Ranking Fluctuationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-ranking-fluctuation/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-ranking-fluctuation/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 14:00:23 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-ranking-fluctuation/Often times we are asked by our clients why their page one ranking on Google fluctuates from a rank 3 to rank 5 to rank 2 depending on the day and computer used for the search.

In an effort to only show the most relevant search results, Google will sometimes rank web sites higher or lower for searchers in different regions. They do this based on the region registered to the IP address of the user. It is normal for a well optimized web site to fluctuate by two or three rankings. As the web site is ranked higher on the first page, the fluctuations tend to be less prevalent.

Also, when Google makes minor algorithm changes or does maintenance on their servers, a ranking can be temporarily affected.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call Adviatech at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us online at Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-ranking-fluctuation/feed/Guaranteed SEO Service Offered to More Competitive Industrieshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/guaranteed-seo-service-offered-to-more-competitive-industries/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/guaranteed-seo-service-offered-to-more-competitive-industries/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:59:47 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/guaranteed-seo-service-offered-to-more-competitive-industries/Search engine optimization company, Adviatech Corp., (adviatech.com) announced that they have added to the list of acceptable industries into their guaranteed SEO plan.

Tampa Florida based search engine optimization company, Adviatech, announced that they are allowing more competitive terms under the umbrella of their guaranteed search engine optimization service. Last month, Adviatech launched the guaranteed SEO plan which refunds the client’s SEO management cost at the end of their contract term if the keywords and keyphrases did not appear on the first page of Google.

With the success of the launch and some new features included in the SEO package, Adviatech feels confident in their ability to optimize more competitive keywords and keyphrases within their guaranteed search engine optimization platform.

Adviatech Corp., Vice President, Jason Bland, commented, “When we review a web site to determine its competitive rating, we look at web competition more so than actual industry competition. Web competition is any web site ranked on the first page of Google for a client’s keyword or keyphrase.”

While Adviatech is offering the guaranteed search engine optimization service to more competitive web sites, the service term may be longer than that of moderately competitive keywords and keyphrases.

The search network is made up of Google, AOL, and a variety of other search engines that use Google as their search engine solution. Your ads are only displayed when someone does a relevant search in any of these search engines. You will pay full price for your search network clicks as the traffic you’re receiving is highly targeted.

The content network is made up of relevant web sites. As you surf the web, you see web sites everywhere displaying the Google ads on their site. This is the content network. Your ad will appear on relevant web sites but you’ll only be charged a fraction of the normal click price as traffic from the content network is not as targeted as the search network.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us at Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-network-vs-content-network-on-google-adwords/feed/Website Optimization Starts With Designhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/website-optimization-starts-with-design/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/website-optimization-starts-with-design/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:58:33 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/website-optimization-starts-with-design/The design of your web site can help and hurt your search engine optimization effort. While color schemes, pictures, and other visual appearances will have limited affect on your site, the placement of such objects can be a little more damaging.

It’s a common mistake to place flash all over a web site or use flash buttons. Links to your web pages should consist on textual links rather than flash buttons as search engines do not easily read flash content or following links from flash buttons. This will hinder their ability to index all of the content within your site.

We will be posting blog entries on web design and optimization until our Search Engine Optimization Seminar hosted in Tampa Florida on November 1, 2007. Our topic for the seminar will be on design elements and what to do (and not to do) to your web site.

To learn more, call Adviatech at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us online at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/website-optimization-starts-with-design/feed/Link Exchangeshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/link-exchanges/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/link-exchanges/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:57:49 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/link-exchanges/The value of quality link partnerships cannot be overemphasized. While you, of course, must have quality content, relevant content, fresh content, and a search engine friendly web site, the next step is link population. Link population is the process of getting other relevant web sites to link to your web site. These are also referred to as “inbound links”.

The quality of a link partnership is important. Should you link with a web site that has a low quality ranking (or PageRank) it will affect the way Google rates your web site. When seeking link exchange partnerships, be sure to link with web sites with a Google PageRank of 3 or greater.

To learn more, contact Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us online at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/link-exchanges/feed/Avoid Free For All (FFA) Link Pageshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/avoid-free-for-all-ffa-link-pages/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/avoid-free-for-all-ffa-link-pages/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:57:26 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/avoid-free-for-all-ffa-link-pages/It is amazing how much old and obsolete information on search engine optimization is still being published as relevant tips. Free for All link pages (or FFA) were used in the early 90’s as a way for webmasters to get links to their web sites. However, a FFA site does not have any particular relevance and is usually just a breeding ground for spam.

Furthermore, Google and Yahoo don’t even index Free for All link pages anymore because of their uselessness. Thus, should you link to one, the link wouldn’t count because the site you’re linking to would not be indexed.

Directories are a better way to build a successful link strategy. We’ll get into directories in future blog entries.

To learn more visit Adviatech.com or call us at 1.800.728.5306.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/avoid-free-for-all-ffa-link-pages/feed/Directories and Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/directories-and-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/directories-and-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:57:04 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/directories-and-search-engine-optimization/Previously, we talked about the harmful effects of FFA’s (Free for All link pages) but today, we are going to talk about directories. Directories are web sites that categorize other web sites. The best directories to submit your web site to are the ones that focus primarily on your category. For example, if you are an attorney, then a lawyer directory would best serve your purpose.

Submitting to non specific directories like DMoz.org (the Open Directory Project) can be helpful but it is more effective to submit your link to relevant directories.

A couple things to remember when submitting your web site to a directory; make sure the directory is human edited. If they accept any and all submissions, then they are simply a categorized free for all link page. The directory you are linking to should have a PageRank of 3 or greater which is also an important criterion when doing a link exchange with any web site.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 or visit us at Adviatech.com.

Search engine optimization for lawyers and law firms differs from regular search engine optimization in that it is a regional SEO project. Most lawyers and law firms practice in a certain region, city, state, county, etc. This means that they do not require national optimization terms such as “DUI Attorney” but rather localized terms such as “DUI Attorney in Tampa”.

Your online marketing company should be able to target the content of your web site and online information to not only express your area of law but also your region of which you practice. Make sure your content clearly expresses what area of law you practice and where you practice it. Your keywords and keyphrases should be present in the content of your web site and you should focus more on what you do rather than who you are.

To learn more, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306. Adviatech offers guaranteed search engine optimization services for lawyers and law firms across the country.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/law-firm-search-engine-optimization/feed/Linking Anywherehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/linking-anywhere/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/linking-anywhere/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:55:46 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/linking-anywhere/Inbound links to your web site are a necessary part of search engine optimization. In fact, it is what makes the difference in your optimized web site being ranked on the 10th page or 1st. However, it is still a misunderstood part of search engine optimization and many SEO companies give mixed signals.

Google expresses that you should avoid working with SEO firms that link to your web site. Many SEO firms such as one Chicago based SEO firm, puts a link phrasing “Search Engine Optimization” which goes back to their web site on all of their client’s web sites. This is a problem because their client’s web sites are NOT relevant to search engine optimization.

Link exchanges and one way links should be placed on relevant web sites. Web sites such as relevant article sources, blogs, forums, and news related web sites are great opportunities for posting your link on a relevant web property. While more links may be better, more links on irrelevant web sites will just waist your time. Quantity and Quality must be respected in the world of inbound link population.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit Adviatech at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/linking-anywhere/feed/Optimizing the News – Press Release Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-the-news-%e2%80%93-press-release-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-the-news-%e2%80%93-press-release-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:55:17 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-the-news-%e2%80%93-press-release-search-engine-optimization/Press releases are great ways to not only increase your link population but your overall brand awareness as well. Many newswires like PrWeb, PR.com, etc, have a huge number of inbound links so naturally, your press release hosted on their web site has a greater chance of being ranked on the first page than your web site; at least at the beginning of your search engine optimization effort.

Keeping that in mind, be sure to optimize your press releases. When writing the title of your press release, avoid using classic title formats such as “Adviatech Corp., Announces New Service”. Instead, state what you are before who you are. For example, “Guaranteed SEO Firm Launches New Service.”

In the press release, the reader will learn about your company and brand but use an optimized title to get more readers to the news release.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us online at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-the-news-%e2%80%93-press-release-search-engine-optimization/feed/Writing a Blog Entry for Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-a-blog-entry-for-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-a-blog-entry-for-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:54:48 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-a-blog-entry-for-search-engine-optimization/On Site Blog’s are great ways to add fresh content to your web site and increase your inbound link population. Unlike articles, blog entries can consist of one or two paragraphs and be brief and to the point.

The frequency of blog entry submissions should be at least four times a month. As many Adviatech clients do, you can use your blog as an outlet for frequently asked questions. When a client or prospect calls your business with a question, you can post the answer on your blog.

Always make sure your blog entry subject is descriptive and if possible, filled with your keywords and keyphrases. Write at least one paragraph then submit. As you post entries of interest, other web sites with make reference to them and link to those entries on your web site.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/writing-a-blog-entry-for-search-engine-optimization/feed/Landing Pages for Pay Per Click Conversionshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/landing-pages-for-pay-per-click-conversions/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/landing-pages-for-pay-per-click-conversions/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:53:53 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/landing-pages-for-pay-per-click-conversions/If you use Google Adwords or any other pay per click based search marketing, you may be familiar with landing pages. Landing pages are different than doorway pages. Doorway pages are duplicate pages in your web site that have the same content but different keywords and keyphrases to make the site appear more optimized. They are also banned by Google and will possibly lead to penalties against your web site’s ranking.

However, landing pages are short pages on your web site that pay per click generated visitors can “land on” which will give them a brief outline of your product and service and usually a buy now or lead request form. Conversions are generally higher on landing pages than they are when you just send your visitors directly to your web site. Especially, if you offer different products and services, using landing pages will allow you to target your visitors for that particular product or service.

To learn more about search engine optimization and making more money with your web site, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 or visit us online at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/landing-pages-for-pay-per-click-conversions/feed/Insurance Agency Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/insurance-agency-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/insurance-agency-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:53:01 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/insurance-agency-search-engine-optimization/Insurance Agency Search Engine Optimization is now available from the search engine optimization company that offers the real money back guaranty. Adviatech has developed a search engine optimization strategy that is custom made for insurance agencies looking to do more quotes and write more policies using the internet and their web site.

Of course, if your insurance agency doesn’t have a web site, Adviatech’s team of talented designers and developers can create one that will help automate the quote requesting process.

Utilizing search engine optimization as part of your insurance agency’s marketing strategy is going to offer the highest return on your marketing dollar. Search engine optimization for insurance agencies is more affordable than print, radio, and television advertising. Plus, in most regions, Adviatech will guaranty your search engine optimization performance.

To learn more, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us at Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/insurance-agency-search-engine-optimization/feed/Search Engine Optimizing Your Law Firmhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimizing-your-law-firm/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimizing-your-law-firm/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:52:38 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimizing-your-law-firm/Your law firm’s web site must be optimized in order to achieve a page one ranking. While that sounds easy enough, what does that mean? In short, the content on your law firm’s web site must reflect your areas of practice first, and your firm’s name second.

Many law firms make the mistake of titling their web site and basing the content on the lawyers in the firm, their records, and expertise. While this information is very valuable to have on your site, the majority of the web site must be about your area(s) of practice.

Search engines can only see what you type into your web site. If the majority of phrases and content on your site are mentioning your law firm’s name or the names of the lawyers in the firm, it will be difficult for Google and Yahoo to see your law firm’s site as being highly relevant.

To learn more, call Adviatech Corp., at 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us online at http://www.adviatech.com/seolawfirm.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/search-engine-optimizing-your-law-firm/feed/Getting More Leads for Your Insurance Agencyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-leads-for-your-insurance-agency/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-leads-for-your-insurance-agency/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:52:11 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-leads-for-your-insurance-agency/Leads and policies are the reason why you have a web site or need a web site for your insurance agency. The best way to maximize the number of leads you get onto your web site is start a search engine optimization campaign. Clearly, the more targeted visitors you get, the greater the odds of getting leads and doing more quotes.

It’s also important to have your quote request easily accessible on every page of your site. For example, instead of just having an auto insurance information page and an auto insurance quote page, offer a short contact form on the auto insurance information page and give the user the option of filling out a detailed auto insurance quote on the quote page.

You should also be sure to have your quote pages secured if you are collecting sensitive information like health records, driver’s licenses, or social security numbers. Learn more at http://www.insuranceagencyseo.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-leads-for-your-insurance-agency/feed/Creating a Sitemaphttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/creating-a-sitemap/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/creating-a-sitemap/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:51:41 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/creating-a-sitemap/Sitemaps are great ways to help the search engines find all of the content within your web site. To create a sitemap, simply open up a web editor or have your webmaster make a simple HTML page which links to every page on your web site.

Then, link the HTML page to your homepage. This will allow the search engines to find web pages within your web site that they may otherwise not be able to access due to java scripts or Flash menus.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/creating-a-sitemap/feed/Educating Your Visitors Into Buying Policieshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/educating-your-visitors-into-buying-policies/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/educating-your-visitors-into-buying-policies/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:51:09 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/educating-your-visitors-into-buying-policies/Everybody needs insurance but hardly anybody understands it. By having an insurance agency, you have the luxury of offering products that everybody needs. The way to leverage that is by educating your users.

On your insurance agency’s web site, you should utilize a blog and a frequently asked questions/knowledge base. This will add a great amount of relevant content to your web site and at the same time, keep visitors on the site. People that are searching for a policy are more likely to call the agency that informed them on what they were wanting to know.

By having a blog on your web site, your receptionist and agents can add short entries to answer questions as they come up on the phone or in meetings. If you are currently not utilizing a blog, contact Adviatech about this and other search engine optimization techniques that will help you get more quotes from your web site.

At first, the idea of managing your web site easily online sounds appealing. You can changes images, add content, maybe even add a new page. But what many content management programs don’t allow you to do is optimize your web site.

Content optimization (that is the process of optimizing the content on your web site for search engines) requires access to title tags and paragraphs within your site. Many content management solutions do not allow you to change such items.

The other problem with CMS (content management systems) is when they are subhosted. Meaning, a third party is hosting your application. This will hinder your search engine optimization company’s ability to upload items like blogs and link exchange managers.

If you have an online content management solution, Adviatech can more than likely help optimize your web site as some of the more popular ones have properly adapted to search engine optimization needs. Give us a call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 to get a quote or visit us at Adviatech.com.

Some small law firms spend well over a hundred thousand dollars a year in newspaper ads, billboards, phone books, radio, and television. Sometimes, spending as much as $2,000.00 a month on each of these media forms. So why do law firm’s shy away from online marketing which is considerably less expensive?

Unfortunately, many law firms have been targeted by non-effective online marketers who have taken money, given a difficult to optimize web site, and given little to no results to the paying law firm. However, online marketing is highly effective and far more affordable than traditional media if performed correctly.

When advertising in newspapers and billboards, you are throwing your law firm’s name in front of a general audience in hopes that someone is in need of counsel. With search engine optimization, your web site is easily found by those already in need of representation. By being ranked on the first page of Google for your region and practice (ie: New York DUI Lawyer), your web site will be able to generate more cases for your firm.

With Adviatech’s Guaranteed Page One Google Ranking (natural ranking), you can feel assured that your marketing dollars will be well spent online…especially with Adviatech because we offer a money back guaranty.

Give us a call and compare search engine optimization cost to traditional media. Visit us online at http://www.seolawfirm.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/lawyer-search-engine-optimization-vs-tv-radio-and-print/feed/Myths of the Meta Taghttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/myths-of-the-meta-tag/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/myths-of-the-meta-tag/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:50:03 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/myths-of-the-meta-tag/It surprises me how many search engine optimization companies still use meta tags in their marketing ploys. In the early days of the internet, search engines relied on web site owners placing accurate keywords and descriptions in meta tags to determine where to place the web site in their index.

However, today, search engines download the text of your entire web site (if optimized properly) and use your actual content to determine where you should be ranked…that along with your content quality, link population, relevancy, etcetera.

So are meta tags useless? Not really. Meta tags can still help the search engines accurately read your web site. Also, search engines do still rely on your description tag for ranking. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1) Don’t put keywords in your meta tag that are not displayed on your web pages actual content. If you are running an online shoe store that sells sneakers, don’t put name brands in your keyword list that you don’t actually sell. This is called “keyword spamming” and you will be hurting your search engine optimization effort by doing this.

2) Keep it short. Beyond 10-15 keywords, you’re going to get ignored. So keep your keyword list short and relevant.

3) Finally, keep your description short, descriptive, and full of your keywords and keyphrases. For example, in describing your shoe store you could say, “Pete’s shoe store offers sneakers, running shoes, formal shoes, business shoes, sandals, and a variety of quality footwear.” It is important not to “keyword spam” in your description.

To learn more about search engine optimization, contact Adviatech at 1.800.728.5306 or visit Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/myths-of-the-meta-tag/feed/YouTube, User Video Upload Web Sites, and Their Place in Your Online Marketing Strategyhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/youtube-user-video-upload-web-sites-and-their-place-in-your-online-marketing-strategy/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/youtube-user-video-upload-web-sites-and-their-place-in-your-online-marketing-strategy/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:48:39 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=36User Upload video web sites are fun to visit to see the strange, funny, and often times stupid aspects of people’s lives. But they also can play a valuable role in your online marketing strategy.

The Mentos and Diet Coke trick, a car accident, a talking cigar smoking cat, these are what make user video web sites so popular. But on the other hand, they also have a powerful position in the search engines.

Since the acquisition of YouTube, Google has included YouTube videos into their search results page. When looking for certain search terms, YouTube videos are displayed right within the natural search page for users to click on and watch. Other video sites with powerful link population such as MySpace Video, also show up in many search results.

To get the most out of your online video posting, you must first film something. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a professional commercial, sometimes you just need your face. First, come up with something informative. We’ll use an insurance agent as an example. Setup a camera in front of you, spend thirty to forty-five seconds explaining the details of your state’s auto insurance requirements, and that’s all.

Next, upload the video to a variety of online user video web sites. Now, here is where you need to pay close attention. The title and description of your submitted video needs to include your keywords and keyphrases and not your company name. Therefore, in this example, the title of the video should be named something like “Florida Auto Insurance Requirements Explained” with a description such as “Florida auto insurance agent, Ms. Smith explains Florida’s ever changing auto insurance policy requirements.”

Google Video and most others will allow you to submit a link to your web site which will also help your inbound link population. Video syndication is also a great part of viral video web sites because your video, your message, and your link will be syndicated across a variety of relevant web sites.

Visit http://www.spivovideo.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/youtube-user-video-upload-web-sites-and-their-place-in-your-online-marketing-strategy/feed/Getting More Cases by Giving Away Brief Legal Informationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-cases-by-giving-away-brief-legal-information/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-cases-by-giving-away-brief-legal-information/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:46:24 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-cases-by-giving-away-brief-legal-information/The value of the internet, when it comes to marketing, is in its ability to give you the opportunity to sell to those who are interested in your product or service or in your cases, get more cases from people/businesses in need of representation in your area of practice. Of course, Google doesn’t know anything about your law firm except what you tell it. Thus, they can’t rank you for relevant terms.

The best way to get your law firm ranked for relevant terms is to give as much information on your web site as possible. However, its important that you give information on your areas of practice, and not your law firm. The value of content is simply underplayed by many search engine optimization companies who focus primarily on links. While inbound links are very important to your increased ranking, your web site must contain quality content to link to.

As a law firm, you are able give information on laws, news, and common frequently asked questions regarding your area of practice. Writing articles and posting them on your web site is a great way to attract your target market. For example, if you are a divorce lawyer, you could post a “What to expect when getting a divorce” article on your web site. By attracting an audience that is seeking information, you will inevitably attract people needing representation in your area of practice.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/getting-more-cases-by-giving-away-brief-legal-information/feed/The Insurance Marketing Power of Advicehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-insurance-marketing-power-of-advice/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-insurance-marketing-power-of-advice/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:45:42 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-insurance-marketing-power-of-advice/When optimizing your insurance web site, it is important to remember that the one thing that brings in the traffic is information. As Google reads your web site and determines your ranking, they have your textual content to use as a guide for establishing your appropriate ranking.

As more and more consumers and businesses start their insurance shopping online, its important for you to position your agency as an online resource. If someone is seeking information and you have that information, they are more likely to request a quote from your agency. With that in mind, it is very important to have online quote requesting available on your web site.

Nobody likes to be confused. By offering clear advice and explanations of terms on your web site, you can help your prospective policy holders gain a basic level of understand which will make them comfortable in their insurance purchase. Aside from those very important points, giving information also positions you and your agency as an expert in your field.

If you don’t already have a web site, Adviatech offers a complete insurance agency web site (see demo at http://www.readytoquote.com) with insurance content, secured quoting forms, and online lead management. The web site is optimized with your state, region, and agency name then marketed to achieve a page one Google ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-insurance-marketing-power-of-advice/feed/New Cases From Your Law Firm’s Web Site Starts With Being Foundhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/new-cases-from-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-starts-with-being-found/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/new-cases-from-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-starts-with-being-found/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:45:14 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/new-cases-from-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-starts-with-being-found/Why do web sites such as FindLaw get millions of visitors every month? Because people and businesses are turning to the internet when in need of legal representation. Having a web site is not enough. Web sites are not like Yellow Page ads. Sure, the web site is on the “web” but the only way to get traffic to it (targeted traffic) is to be ranked high in the search engines for terms related to your area of practice.

To many, search engine optimization is a mystery. The truth is, search engine optimization is simply a science. In order for your web site to be ranked on the first page, the content needs to be relevant to the term(s) you’re trying to be ranked highly for. Relevancy simply means, your keyword and keyphrases are used within the content enough times to where it increases relevancy but not too much to the point that your get tagged for keyword spamming.

The next step is getting links to your web site. Links to your web site act as votes for the quality of your content. The use of press releases and articles increases your one way inbound links. Press releases are commercial and talk about your law firm and something your doing. These get submitted to a list of newswires then syndicated to sources like Google News where they are syndicated again to relevant web sites. All the while, your link is being syndicated with the press releases.

Articles are information. Information pertaining to your area of practice. While articles do not mention your practice, the footer of the article will and will always include a link to your web site. Articles go into article archives which also syndicate to relevant web sites, blogs, forums, and newsletters.

Together, these elements give your web site increased inbound links and pull your law firm’s web site to the first page of Google. The key is consistency. Sure, if you have the time you can do this yourself. While many SEO firm’s will try to say that there are secrets and magic behind SEO, the truth is, you can do it yourself. But, if your law firm is thriving, you will need a company that can consistently increase your link population and focus on your online success. Much like filing for divorce or filing a bankruptcy, someone could do these things themselves, but for the best result, they should turn to someone that has done it before and is an expert in the field.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/new-cases-from-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-starts-with-being-found/feed/Clearing Out the Dead Linkshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/clearing-out-the-dead-links/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/clearing-out-the-dead-links/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:44:36 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/clearing-out-the-dead-links/As you make changes to your web site, its important to make sure your menu’s are updated as well. Otherwise, you might have dead links. A dead link is a link to a page within your web site that does not work. More than likely, it doesn’t work because of a misspelling or you have the wrong path (ie: yourdomain.com/directory/file.html).

To quickly check your web site for dead links, visit http://validator.w3.org/checklink and type in your full URL. Give it a minute to scan and you will soon get a report. Dead links will hinder your ranking performance because it lowers the quality of your web site.

To learn more visit http://www.adviatech.com or call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/clearing-out-the-dead-links/feed/Pleasing Google with Your Menuhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pleasing-google-with-your-menu/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pleasing-google-with-your-menu/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:43:51 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pleasing-google-with-your-menu/A commonly overlooked search engine optimization hindrance is your menu. You know, that gateway to the rest of your web site? Often times, your menus are made to look pretty by your web design using flash, slide effects, java effects, rollover buttons, and other methods that look great. However, these attractive effects make it difficult for Google to crawl through your web site and download all of your content for indexing.

The easiest way to remedy this is to include text links to all of your pages at the bottom of your home page. This allows the search engines to easily navigate your web site.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/pleasing-google-with-your-menu/feed/Why You Are Not Writing More Policieshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-you-are-not-writing-more-policies/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-you-are-not-writing-more-policies/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:43:19 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-you-are-not-writing-more-policies/As you know, owning an insurance agency opens up potential to make a lot of money, especially over time as policies renew. But the key to next year’s success is in what you’re doing right now. More people and businesses turn to the internet for insurance, now, than ever before. You might have been sold a web site for a cheap price and pay a few bucks a month to host it… and that’s one of the reasons why you are not making any money off of it.

Your web site can’t just exist, it has to be marketed. And to market it correctly, you have to pay for time intensive labor. That’s not to say you have to pay thousands of dollars a month, but realistically, a couple hundred bucks is not that expensive when it comes to bringing in new policies. Especially, if a search engine optimization company is offering a page one Google ranking with a money back guarantee.

So if you want to do next year’s bottom line a favor, you can work with a team of online marketing professionals that offer an affordable price, a quality service, and offers a guarantee. Just like minimum car insurance is still insurance, the minimum existence of your insurance agency’s web site is still a web site. However, neither of the two will benefit you when you need them to.

If you don’t already have a web site, Adviatech offers a complete insurance agency web site (see demo at http://www.readytoquote.com) with insurance content, secured quoting forms, and online lead management. The web site is optimized with your state, region, and agency name then marketed to achieve a page one Google ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-you-are-not-writing-more-policies/feed/Your Web Site is Keeping You Downhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site-is-keeping-you-down/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site-is-keeping-you-down/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:42:47 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site-is-keeping-you-down/In past blog entries, we have stressed the importance of a good, content rich, web site when optimizing for the first page of Google. However, more often overlooked is the items currently on your web site that are damaging your ranking.

Google must see textual content. Often times, web sites are made in Flash or have content that comes from a dynamic source such as Java. Both Java and Flash are seen as one single file by the search engine bots. That means, the words that your human visitors can see in your Flash content can not be seen by the search engines.

2) Flash – Flash headers may be attractive but you should not create an entire web site in Flash. Flash should be used as an added element but you should keep the web site in a standard text and graphic based format just as HTML.

3) Easy Contact Access – Lets not forget about conversion. Getting people to your web site is only half the battle. People are far more likely to fill out an information request or contact form on your web site than they are to physically email or call you. Make the forms easy to get to; short to fill out, and make sure your webmaster keeps these forms functional. If a form is not working properly, 98% of the time, your interested visitor will not give it a second try.

To learn more about search engine optimization, visit http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site-is-keeping-you-down/feed/Statistics and Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/statistics-and-search-engine-optimization/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/statistics-and-search-engine-optimization/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:41:52 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/statistics-and-search-engine-optimization/An often overlooked element of search engine optimization is the use of statistical data. Statistics is how you can measure the success of your search engine optimization effort. The most comprehensive statistics package available for free is Google Analytics (http://www.google.com/analytics/).

Google Analytics will help you see where your traffic is coming from and it will also help you track conversions. Conversion problems are often called the problem of the web site with traffic. Getting the traffic is only half the battle if your web site’s goal is getting new clients.

The downside of Google Analytics is having to paste the tracking code into each page on your web site. For most web sites, normally less than 30 pages, this is not a big deal, but if you have hundreds of static pages of content, you might want to outsource the task to an offshore data entry company.

Most hosting companies give you a standard statistics package like Webalizer, Modlogan, or Awstats. Of which, the most accurate is Awstats. Sometimes, Modlogan and Webalizer will give you inflated visitor stats which may make you feel good about your site at first, but not having an accurate view of traffic is going to hinder your ability to increase conversion.

To learn more about search engine optimization, call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1 or visit us at http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/statistics-and-search-engine-optimization/feed/An Easy Way to Get More Insurance Quotes from the Webhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/an-easy-way-to-get-more-insurance-quotes-from-the-web/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/an-easy-way-to-get-more-insurance-quotes-from-the-web/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:41:17 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/an-easy-way-to-get-more-insurance-quotes-from-the-web/Sometimes, we go over detailed ideas about how you can change the content of your web site to be better search engine optimized. Or, increase links to your web site. But what about conversion?

Conversion is what keeps your search engine optimization company (hopefully us) employed and solvent. While anybody can get traffic, its getting targeted traffic that increases conversion which will keep you happy with your SEO company.

So, what is the easiest way to increase the number of insurance quotes you get from your web site? A conspicuous “get a quote” button. Really, its that easy.

Sounds easy enough but most insurance web sites don’t have such a thing. Many include their “get a quote” button with their regular menu. The quote form should be the most obvious item to go to on your web site.

It should be located at the top, middle, and included in the main menu (see an example at our ReadytoQuote Insurance Web Site Demo http://www.readytoquote.com/demo/person … rance.html). If it will fit in your web sites design, you should take it a step further by including a short contact form at the bottom of each page. If you are transferring sensitive data such as social security numbers or driver’s license numbers used for quoting, you should only have those forms on a secured server.

Ask your webmaster or SEO to put a big bold link or graphic that says “Get a Quote” and see how that improves your visitor conversion.

If you don’t already have a web site, Adviatech offers a complete insurance agency web site (see demo at http://www.readytoquote.com) with insurance content, secured quoting forms, and online lead management. The web site is optimized with your state, region, and agency name then marketed to achieve a page one Google ranking.

Anybody who is currently working on getting there web site optimized or having a search engine optimization firm increasing their ranking has recently seen random fluctuations and changes in their ranking.

The reason? Google has been updating their data centers (server farms) along with their PageRank system. The PageRank of a web site is basically Google’s quality rating of a web site believed to be based on the relevancy of a web site, the number of links to that web site, and the quality of the web sites linking to it. (You can learn more about their platform at http://spivo.com/encyclopedia/?title=Google#Platform).

From what we have found, the upgrades are soon to be completed and rankings should start to stabilize. Until then, don’t panic if you see your site’s ranking drop drastically or get too excited if it increases drastically. Once the upgrades are complete and the dust settles, a good web site with a strong PageRank should not be affected more than 1-3 ranks up or down.

To learn more visit Adviatech.com or call 1.800.728.5306.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/google-pagerank-updates-wild-ranking-web/feed/Three Ways to Turn Your Law Firm’s Web Site into A Successhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/three-ways-to-turn-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-into-a-success/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/three-ways-to-turn-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-into-a-success/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:39:57 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/three-ways-to-turn-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-into-a-success/Most lawyers rely on people and businesses needing council then seeking a lawyer. Whereas many industries have to convince their target audience that they want or need the offered product or service, lawyers simply have to be found at the right time.

That’s what makes the internet such an effective marketing strategy for law firms. To make it to the top and convert visitors to consultations, you can follow these three easy tips.

1) Share Your Knowledge – Most attorneys have written articles about their area of practice. These should be published on your web site. Not only does that place relevant content on your web site, it also positions you as an expert in your field.

2) Sell Your Practice Not Yourself – Your web site should have a “lawyer bio” page but the rest of the web site should be about what area of the law you practice in. For example, if you are John Smith, Divorce Attorney, make your on site wordage reiterate “divorce attorney” more than “John Smith” because the “divorce attorney” is what your target audience will be searching for… not your name.

3) Web Contact – As mentioned in last weeks issue, make the contact form easy to get to. People are more inclined to fill out an information request form than they are to pick up the phone.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/three-ways-to-turn-your-law-firm%e2%80%99s-web-site-into-a-success/feed/Google PageRankhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/google-pagerank/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/google-pagerank/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:39:18 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=23It is very important to understand at least what your web site’s Google PageRank(TM) represents. The PageRank(TM) is the number Google assigns your web site to identify its quality, relevance, and the quality of the web sites its linking to and are linking to it. Generally, web sites with a higher PageRank(TM) rank higher in Google for their keyphrases than web sites with lower PageRank(TM).

As mentioned in last week’s issue, a healthy and realistically achievable PageRank(TM) for a business web site is between 3 and 6. It’s important to know your Google PageRank(TM) so we have setup a page rank checker at http://www.adviatech.com/google_pagerank_checker.html. This tool will also give you your Alexa rating and check for backlinks (web sites linking to yours).

Google is very protective of their logo but they lend out their trademark names with minimal governance. However, we forgot to point out is last weeks issue that the term “PageRank” is a registered trademark of Google, Inc. While the PageRank(TM) name is registered to Google, Inc., Google does not actually hold the patent to the PageRank(TM) technology. The patent belongs to Stanford University. To learn more, visit http://www.spivo.com/encyclopedia/?title=pagerank.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/google-pagerank/feed/Assuring Insurance Web Site Successhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/assuring-insurance-web-site-success/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/assuring-insurance-web-site-success/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:37:53 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/assuring-insurance-web-site-success/In order to have a successful insurance web site, you must first identify your goals. If your goal is to write more policies, you need to identify which insurance products you want to sell the most of and target your web site’s content around that.

Once you have decided which insurance products to focus on, it is very important (as mentioned in last week’s issue) to offer a quote request form on your web site. Why is this so important?

1) It is a call to action – By offering a “Get a Quote” link, you are giving the visitor a call to action. By offering a call to action you will increase conversion and ultimately, the number of policies you write from your web site.

2) You can follow up with a quote – A secured quote request form will provide you with everything you need to give a prospect an insurance quote. If you can call with a quote in hand, that will greatly increase your ability to close more policies.

Another way your web site can act as a benefit to your client is by offering online claim filing, policy changes, and simple support. This is just a matter of setting up the right forms and securely processing requests.

If you don’t already have a web site, Adviatech offers a complete insurance agency web site (see demo at http://www.readytoquote.com) with insurance content, secured quoting forms, and online lead management. The web site is optimized with your state, region, and agency name then marketed to achieve a page one Google ranking.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/assuring-insurance-web-site-success/feed/Optimizing Your Law Firm with the Right Phrasehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-law-firm-with-the-right-phrase/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-law-firm-with-the-right-phrase/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:37:28 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-law-firm-with-the-right-phrase/A common question that we get every day is “how can you get my law firm’s web site to the first page of Google?” With such an endless variety of keywords and keyphrases, the first page of Google depends on which keyphrase your law firm’s web site is relevant to.

Relevance simply refers to your web site’s text content. If you are a business litigation lawyer and your web site’s text does not mention the phrase “business litigation lawyer” then your web site is not relevant to that keyphrase.

It’s also important to know that Google’s natural rankings are not regional specific (in most cases) unlike their paid rankings via the Adwords program. Therefore, you have to include a region in the term. This also helps conversion.

If your law firm is ranked on the first page of Google for “personal injury lawyer”, everyone in North America will go to your web site. But, if you only practice in one city or state, you will waste a tremendous amount of time weeding through the inquiries. Also, general terms such as that could take years to achieve.

The best route is to go regional. Regional keyphrases offer greater conversion. If you only have offices in Denver Colorado, for example, then being on the first page of Google for a term like “Denver Personal Injury Lawyer” will bring in targeted traffic to your site and ultimately lead to a greater number of new cases generated from the web.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-law-firm-with-the-right-phrase/feed/What Is a Backlink?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/what-is-a-backlink/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/what-is-a-backlink/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:36:46 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/?p=19Backlinks are what inbound links are often referred to as. Basically, this is a link from another relevant web site to your web site. They are also called inbound links. Google reviews the quality and number of relevant web sites linking into your web site to determine the quality of your content and overall, your web site.

Based on your quality and relevance (relevance meaning relevant to your keyphrases) your web site is ranked accordingly. It is your search engine optimization company’s job to increase the on site relevance as well as increase the number of backlinks to your web site.

To find out how many backlinks your web site has and your web site’s Pagerank, visit http://www.adviatech.com/google_pagerank_checker.html.

To learn more about search engine optimization, visit Adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/what-is-a-backlink/feed/Reaching the Top of Google for Your Agency’s Web Sitehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/reaching-the-top-of-google-for-your-agency%e2%80%99s-web-site/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/reaching-the-top-of-google-for-your-agency%e2%80%99s-web-site/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:35:35 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/reaching-the-top-of-google-for-your-agency%e2%80%99s-web-site/Most insurance agencies write policies in particular regions across the country which means you must appear for those related terms. For example, a health insurance agency in South Carolina would not benefit from someone in Oregon searching for a general phrase like “health insurance”. Thus, in that case, it would be necessary to be on the page one of Google for the term “South Carolina health insurance” or “SC health insurance”.

With a few thousand searches a month for that particular term, being on the first page of Google would be a great benefit to the agency. But how do you get there?

Search engines are looking for content and you must include your regional statement in the content of your web site. Your regional statement (in this case) would NOT be “My name is Joe Insurance and I’ve been writing insurance for 20 years”. The correct search engine optimized statement to go at the top of your web site would be “South Carolina health insurance agent, Joe Insurance, has been helping the people of South Carolina get affordable health insurance for 20 years.”

In the second statement, you are telling Google and Yahoo that your web site is relevant to the keyphrase “South Carolina health insurance”. This must stay consistent throughout your web site. Once the content of your site is relevant to your keyphrase, then its time for the link building…

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/reaching-the-top-of-google-for-your-agency%e2%80%99s-web-site/feed/Optimize Your Law Firms Web Site or Build a New One?http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimize-your-law-firms-web-site-or-build-a-new-one/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimize-your-law-firms-web-site-or-build-a-new-one/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:35:07 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimize-your-law-firms-web-site-or-build-a-new-one/If your law firm has been online for a few years, you might be thinking about optimizing your law firm’s web site to be found at the top of Google. However, can your web site be optimized or do you have to build a new one.

That depends. The majority of our clients come to us with web sites that we can work with to be more relevant and optimized. Here are some things to look for on your web site to see if you need a new one.

1) Flash – Does your web site mix flash elements (animations, etc) with textual content? If so, we can more than likely help without redeveloping a web site. However, if your entire web site is in Flash, we will have to translate the site into text based HTML. Reason being, search engines can not read the content in a Flash file.

2) Frames – Frames allow you to have multiple web pages display in separate boxes (frames) on one screen. However, search engines have trouble reading the content of the frames on your web site. Therefore, it is important to convert the web site to a format that does not require frames.

3) Age – If your law firm’s web site has been up for 3-4 years, it may have an old design that is not encouraging your users to contact you. A new design with search engine optimization could result in higher conversion from your web site.

To learn more or to get a professional analysis of whether or not you need a new web site to start a search engine optimization campaign, visit http://www.seolawfirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimize-your-law-firms-web-site-or-build-a-new-one/feed/The Search Engine Optimization Magic Wandhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-search-engine-optimization-magic-wand/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-search-engine-optimization-magic-wand/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:34:38 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-search-engine-optimization-magic-wand/What most people do not understand is that search engine optimization is simply a science. The search engines have certain criteria they look for in a web site to determine its ranking. If your web site meets that criteria, then you achieve a page one ranking.

It fascinates all of us here at Adviatech when we do competitive research on other search engine optimization firms. So many of them still have a “Keep Secret” marketing strategy. Like this “Search engine optimization company” who’s outline of how SEO works went exactly like this on their web site:

“How do we do it? That’s a trademarked secret. It’s like seeing sausage made – you don’t wanna know.”

First, SEO is not a trademark secret. Search engine optimization is all about relevant content on your web site (relevant to your keyphrases) and link population… the number of web sites linking into your web site. It requires consistency, time, and dedication. When you hire a search engine optimization company (like Adviatech) you are paying for time, consistency, dedication, and continuing education on the search engines ever changing algorithms.

Second, YOU WANT TO KNOW what your search engine optimization company is doing to your web site. Unethical SEO practices could get your web site delisted off of Google. Make sure your SEO company has an ethical practices warranty… preferably one that looks like this: http://www.adviatech.com/ethical_search … ranty.html.

So the next time you see an SEO company advertising secrets, magic tags, and wizardry you can smile smugly and click away from their web site over to an SEO firm that offers a real page one Google ranking guarantee…

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/the-search-engine-optimization-magic-wand/feed/Why Some Law Firms Are First on Googlehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-first-on-google/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-first-on-google/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:34:05 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-first-on-google/With Google getting more than 75% of online web searches, many law firms are actively looking for a way to get to the top. Often times, they will Google their area of practice in their city and wonder why lawyers in their area who may even have cheaply designed web sites are ranking first in Google’s natural ranking.

Google ranks web sites based on relevancy and the number of links to that particular web site. Its called Google PageRank. Google became the most popular search engine by building a system that provides web searchers with search results highly relevant to what the user is searching for. For example, if someone is searching for an “Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer”, they won’t get a web site focusing on “Washington state divorce law”.

So, how do you get your law firm’s web site to become relevant and qualified in the eyes of Google? Relevant content and links.

Relevant content is, in its simplest form, using your keyphrases in your web site’s textual content. Do not list keyphrases out of paragraphs or complete sentences as that is considered keyword/keyphrase spamming.

Say that the original web site content says “If you have had an accident and seek representation, the Law Offices of John Smith can represent you. We have over 10 years of legal experience in representing accident victims.”

Do you see the problem? If Google ranks this personal injury lawyer’s web site based on that paragraph, how does Google know that this is a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta? Remember, Google is a computer, it only knows what it can be told.

Lets optimize that paragraph so that Google knows what kind of lawyer John Smith is.

“Atlanta personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of John Smith represents accident victims. If you have been in an accident near Atlanta Georgia, let the experienced personal injury lawyers of our firm represent you. Our 10 years experience in the Atlanta area will work for you in representing your personal injury case.”

It is very important to make sure that the content is still easy to read. We could possibly take out the last sentence of that paragraph and still have a well optimized statement. Of course, once the web site is optimized, you need a link building effort that consistently builds new links into your web site from other relevant web sites.

To learn more visit Adviatech.com or call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/why-some-law-firms-are-first-on-google/feed/Your Web Site’s Google Ranking is Content Dependanthttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site%e2%80%99s-google-ranking-is-content-dependant/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site%e2%80%99s-google-ranking-is-content-dependant/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:33:31 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site%e2%80%99s-google-ranking-is-content-dependant/Many search engine optimization companies decide whether to lean on content or links for the best search engine ranking. The truth is, it takes both. Your business may have relevant content but without quality web sites linking to your web site, you won’t get a high ranking. On the other hand, if your web site has a large number of quality links to it but not a lot of relevant content, your web site will not get a high ranking.

Building links to your web site requires dedication and consistency. Since you have to run your business, that part is best left to a search engine optimization company.

However, making content changes to your web site is a simple task that you can do yourself to help your ranking. Here a few tips:

1) Use descriptive keyphrases in your textual content. Determine your keyphrases then use them. For example, if you’re opening paragraph currently says “We are located in Atlanta Georgia” and you are a personal injury lawyer, you should reword that to say “As a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, our offices are conveniently located to better serve you.”

3) Simplicity. Make your web site as easy to read and navigate as possible. This is especially important because human visitors and search engines prefer simplicity.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-web-site%e2%80%99s-google-ranking-is-content-dependant/feed/Your Law Firm Must be Designed to Optimizehttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-law-firm-must-be-designed-to-optimize/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-law-firm-must-be-designed-to-optimize/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:32:57 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/your-law-firm-must-be-designed-to-optimize/Web design is search engine optimization’s close cousin. The design of your web site is almost as important as the content within it. One of the biggest mistakes made by web designers is the use of flash buttons, java buttons, and other buttons other than textual links.

Search engines need links to easily access all of the content on your web site. If the search engines are only able to access your home page and not any of your sub pages, they will be missing out on a lot of valuable, keyword rich, content.

Here are a few frequently asked questions regarding designing with optimization in mind.

Q: Will Flash Damage My Ranking?

A: No… if done correctly. A web site that is entirely made in Flash will definitely work against your ranking because the search engines will not have any textual content to index. However, the use of Flash videos and elements that just enhance your web site, will not hurt your ranking. Remember, do not use Flash buttons.

Q: Are Content Management System’s SEO Friendly?

A: That one is a variable. Not all content management systems (programs that allow you to edit your web site online) are SEO friendly but some of them are. The CMS system that Adviatech uses for our Law Firm Web Design (http://www.adviatech.com/lawyer_seo_web_design.html) is completely SEO friendly in both URL structure and page formatting.

Static HTML is of course the best solution for search engine optimized web sites and if your law firm does not require the ability to make frequent changes, a static HTML solution will work best.

To learn more or to take advantage of our $350 savings by starting your project before June 27th (this Friday), visit http://www.adviatech.com/lawyer_seo_web_design.html or call 1.800.728.5306 ext 1.

As I talked with a prospect on the phone, the basic search engine optimization questions arose. How do we build links? How do we optimize content? These are standard questions, which I’m more than prepared to answer. But when I mentioned that we guaranteed page one placement on Google (in the natural search results, of course), the man chuckled and said “You can’t do that.”

Search engine optimization companies have been making excuses for years about why they can’t guarantee first page placement. The truth is, nobody can guarantee it with one hundred percent certainty, but an experienced white hat SEO firm can certainly measure their odds.

If statistics indicate that a certain industry’s most popular keyphrases take an average of six months to get to page one on Google, then an SEO firm doing their job should be able to guarantee that placement over the course of at least a twelve month term. That seems fair. But companies that are a overly cautious or inexperienced may spend their time making excuses, instead of promises. It’s perfectly fine for you, the customer, to take a risk, but not your SEO firm… that doesn’t seem fair, does it?

So, should you immediately sign a contract with the first company that offers a guarantee? Absolutely not. First, look for red flags.

Red flag number one: the “special relationship.” Google cautions about companies that claim to have an inside track to higher page rankings due to a “special relationship” with the world’s most popular search engine. The simple truth, confirmed by Google, is that no such animal exists. Your page’s ranking is based on Google’s PageRank algorithm, which looks at the quality of your page’s content and links, as well as the quality of the content and links on sites linked to and from your site. The only “special relationship” you can form with Google to bypass the PageRank algorithm is with their Adwords program, which costs anywhere from fifty cents to sixty dollars a click, depending on your industry.

Most companies that play the “special relationship” card also have cheap prices, which is our second red flag.

Red flag number two: cheap prices. Search engine optimization is a highly involved process. The content optimization is only the most basic step; everything beyond that hinges on link building. The ethical methods of link building start with writing and publishing professional articles and press releases, which are submitted to relevant and quality-controlled web site directories. Two more tactics available to ethical SEO firms are social bookmarking and tightly scrutinized link exchange management, both of which take time, effort, and ethical SEO management. Even if these processes are outsourced to the far middle regions of the desert, where dial-up is still considered cutting-edge, thirty to fifty dollars a month (fifteen to twenty-five pounds GBP) is simply not enough to cover the time and effort of a reputable SEO company, and it’s certainly not enough for a guaranteed SEO project.

Red flag number three: guaranteed uselessness. Any company’s guarantee is only as serious as the consequence of their failure to deliver. Sure, I could guarantee you first-page search results, but if a year later, you’re not, and I only have to buy you lunch at a local sandwich shop, then the guarantee was only as valuable as the sandwich. If the consequence offered by the SEO company in question is simply “free SEO” until you get what you want, or if the guarantee is for second-tier keyphrases (rather than the ones people actually search for) save yourself a lot of frustration and move on.

When a company fails on a guaranteed result, at least some portion of your investment should be returned. The best method is to deal only with SEO companies offering a guarantee per keyphrase, so that you only pay for the phrases that are on the home page.

The guarantee you should demand is an ethical practices guarantee. This will assure you that your SEO only uses content optimization and link building strategies that are approved by the major search engines.

And last but not least, always get a list of the services you’re paying for, and know exactly what your search engine optimization company is doing to and for your web site. If the answer is “trade secret,” or “patent pending,” or “proprietary process,” or “secrets held by my pet wizard that lives under the kitchen sink,” save yourself a lot of frustration by going elsewhere.

Jason Bland is with guaranteed search engine optimization company, Adviatech Corp. Adviatech is one of the leading SEO firms offering results based online marketing solutions. To learn more about guaranteed SEO services, visit http://www.adviatech.com.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/guaranteed-search-engine-optimization-%e2%80%93-is-it-a-scam/feed/Optimizing Your Firm for the Right Locationhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-firm-for-the-right-location/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-firm-for-the-right-location/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:30:19 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-firm-for-the-right-location/Bigger is not always better when it comes to deciding your law firm’s regional market. At first, you may think its best to optimize for a statewide term. For example California Criminal Defense Lawyer or Florida Real Estate Lawyer, but you may actually get less traffic by including a state rather than a metro area.

To prove this theory, we picked two keyphrases, California DUI Lawyer and Los Angeles DUI Lawyer. Using our research tools, we were able to see how many people Google those two terms each month.

If you were to optimize your law firm’s web site, in this example, for California DUI Lawyer, you would be cheating yourself out of exposure to 1,171 Google surfers.

Of course, every state and metro area will have different results. In smaller states like Massachusetts, it may be viable to have statewide exposure. The best place to start is by talking to a search engine optimization company to get you the statistics and research you need to target the most profitable regions.

To learn more visit us at http://www.seolawfirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/optimizing-your-firm-for-the-right-location/feed/SEO Verses Print Media for Insurance Agencieshttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/seo-verses-print-media-for-insurance-agencies/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/seo-verses-print-media-for-insurance-agencies/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:29:40 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/seo-verses-print-media-for-insurance-agencies/When allocating marketing resources for your insurance agency, you may find it difficult to determine which avenues are going to provide the most exposure and ultimately, give your agency for policies.

Traditionally, agencies have used billboards, newspapers, phone books, television and direct mail/postcards to attract new clients. Yellow page ads, billboards, newspapers, and television all boast large numbers, viewers, and seem to be the best way to entice people to call to see if you can beat their current quote. But not anymore.

Search engines are unique in that they only attract interested individuals and business. Over 75% of the people that watch your television ad, drive past your billboard, or see your ad in the phone book will not call. However, the value of those ads are based on a cost per impression. So you are actually paying top dollar for the 75% (often greater) that will ignore your ad.

Online, things are different. If someone is in need of auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and so on, the percentage that goes to Google first, is growing every year. If somebody is looking for insurance in your area, they are a serious lead.

Unless you engage in pay per click marketing, which for insurance can cost as much as $35 a click (not per lead, but per click on your add), search engine marketing is extremely affordable. Organic search engine optimization, the service we provide, means your web site can appear on the first page of Google under the natural search results. This involves a set list of services, and a monthly fee that is set in stone, and a cost that is less than print, billboards, television, and radio.

]]>http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/seo-verses-print-media-for-insurance-agencies/feed/Design and Simplicityhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/design-and-simplicity/
http://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/design-and-simplicity/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2008 13:28:57 +0000Adviatechhttp://www.adviatech.com/blog/2008/08/design-and-simplicity/Have you ever walked into a little grocery store that carries just the items you are looking for but the floor is dirty, the shelves are disorganized, and the overall atmosphere is scattered? If your web site doesn’t have a clean design and simple navigation, you are representing your business in a similar manner.

When someone comes across your web site, what they see online is their first impression of your business. Regardless of your marble floors, shiny windows, city views, and one of a kind art pieces hanging on the wall of your lobby, if your web site is a cookie cutter template, your contact form is not visible on every page, and your web site doesn’t reflect the prestigious image you have worked so hard to achieve, a simple redesign of your web site might be in order.